Shadowed Wolf: Sasuke's Tale
by ArminaSkitty
Summary: One year after Sasuke abandons Konoha to join Orochimaru he finds out how bad a mistake he made and needs to be rescued. The person who rescues him, however, is a rogue Nin with a secret. What's a 'Jinchuuriki' again? What are the Bijuu? All chaps edited.
1. Why salvation?

Shadowed Wolf

By Armina Skitty

Chap1

A.N.: To alter a quote from AMV (dot) org, "Not another Naruto (fic)!" Yes, another Naruto fic, I can't help it, this idea has been around for a _long_ time, and I don't write a fic unless the idea refuses to leave, hence this fic. I will note it here, that this fic came about after Grapic Novel book 30, chapter 269 of the scanalated manga. So, when, in six months from now, someone reads this and goes "that's not what happened/ that's not what their called/ that's not what they are!" I can say, "Well, duh, I created this before we knew any of that and I'm sticking with what I made!" And if you want to know what I'm talking about… Keep reading!

PS: Sasuke's going to sound a little over dramatic and broody here, but that's just how he is. Bear with it and keep reading, it gets better.

* * *

(_One year after Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha for Orochimaru)_

_I've… really… fucked up… this time._ Sasuke thought in pain. _Naruto… Sakura… Kakashi… they were right. They were right._ From nearly the first moment that Sasuke had entered Orochimaru's lair, everything that had been done to him had been designed to break him. Beaten, psychologically tortured and continuously run down; it was completely logical that Sasuke would become severely ill as well. After all, with all that had happened, he had become ill in mind from Orochimaru's betrayal of him, ill in heart from his own betrayal of his friends in Konoha, ill in soul from the knowledge of how all this could all have been prevented if he had just _listened…_ how could he not be ill in body as well?

Sasuke let out a weak chuckle into the darkness of his small, solitary room where he'd been left. There was no one there to hear it after all; he was completely alone. _Orochimaru was so pissed when I started to get sick all the time. Seems that the other person he wanted to use as a vessel got sick too. He seems to thinks that I got sick on purpose, just to inconvenience him._ It was so hard to breathe… The bed he was laying on was thin and hard. His entire body throbbed in time with his pulse. _I wonder if, when I sleep this time, will I wake up again? Or will I finally die? It hurts so bad…_

It was easier to focus on his physical pain, the many injuries, the aching in his head, chest and bones from the illness that wouldn't leave. That way, he didn't have to think about all the wrongs he had done, and how he could never say 'I'm sorry' to the ones left back home. _If I could have one last wish…it would be to let the others know… how very, very sorry I am. That they were completely right…, that I should have listened… Sakura… Kakashi… Naruto… I'm sorry…_

"I'm sorry…" Consciousness drifted away into pain-filled darkness and Sasuke slept, finally.

* * *

An unknown amount of time later, Sasuke woke to the feel of a damp cloth cooling his fevered head. There was a quite sound of dripping water as the cloth was refreshed and then placed on his head again. Beyond it, there was a sound of trees, and birds singing. _Sounds that don't belong at Orochimaru's lair. Where am I? Not dead… surely. If I was dead I wouldn't be hearing such kind sounds, and I'd probably be in worse pain, however hard that is to imagine._

Sasuke struggled to open his eyes and succeeded, only to close them again with a groan as the light lanced straight through them to the back of his skull. _Ouch… stupid… ouch…_

"Ah, you're awake. And you attempted to look at your surroundings, I take it?" a kind voice said near him. Sasuke hadn't seen much, but he had seen enough to know that he'd been in a room filled with light and open air, so different from his room at Orochimaru's…

"Yeah…" the young Nin was able to croak. He heard the sound of cloth moving against cloth, and the creak of wood, as if someone had just sat in a chair.

"Do you think you can sit up and drink a little?" The same kind, male voice said. Sasuke contemplated what the voice had requested with complete seriousness.

"Yeah" he answered, and then struggled to sit up. Strong hands stopped him, and then gently held him while the cushions he was laying on were rearranged. The hands then eased him back against the support of the cushions.

"Here," the voice said, "its broth." A bowl was held against Sasuke's lips and poured a little at a time, allowing him to drink easily. Sasuke couldn't help but contrast the kindness he was receiving from someone he didn't know at all to the coldness of the people who wanted to exploit him. Yes, he'd been tended to by Orochimaru's people, mostly Kabuto, when he was ill, but not like this. _I wonder it that isn't the reason I never really got better?_

The bowl was soon emptied, it hadn't held much to begin with, but Sasuke didn't think he could drink anymore, and said so when more was offered.

"Who… are you?"

"Ah, I probably should introduce myself to you, huh Sasuke? I'm called Nibiiro Mouko, and I have very little love for Orochimaru." The voice answered, growing far less kind and gentle when saying the Snake's name.

"Then… why...?"

"Why am I helping you? _Because_ I have no love for Orochimaru. I try and piss him off whenever I can, and taking what he values is a very good way to piss him off." Nibiiro answered. "And… because you deserve help, especially since part of you illness is my fault."

"What?"

"The reason I hate Orochimaru is because I once worked with him. I am very skilled in creating new jutsus you see, especially curse-seal jutsus." he explained, "Orochimaru wanted a seal that released all of a persons potential power without that person having to struggle for it. So I created a seal that did that, but it was severely flawed." He paused a moment, then continued, "In spite of the flaws, Orochimaru decided to use it. He _liked_ some of the flaws; that's where and why we parted company. I couldn't condone the use of something so dangerous and imperfect. The curse-seal eats away at the body as it releases power, and it warps the mind terribly."

"Warps- what do you mean?"

"The curse-seal causes the cursed to only be able to think negatively and makes him seek power obsessively." Nibiiro said. "It twists everything that is seen and experienced into something dark. If someone helps you, they're babying you and holding you back. Praise is turned into mockery, friendly competitiveness is a bitter fight for dominance. That sort of thing." Sasuke groaned in mental agony. That explained it! Not only had he turned against his friends, he'd been manipulated and tricked into doing it! That made it worse!

"Please understand," Nibiiro started again, "it is virtually impossible to fight this warping even if you know it's there, and completely impossible for anyone to detect unless they know what they're looking for. Believe me, I know, I tested it myself many times to try and isolate the flaws to remove them." The stranger sighed, "The reason you became so ill is that, even though your conscious mind was unaware of the negative influence, a part of you was aware and fought against it. Your body was rejecting the curse-seal's influence, something no one else has ever been able to do."

"And that… makes it better? That makes... the fact that I… nearly killed… my best friend… for no reason… okay!" Sasuke asked bitterly. There was a pause.

"'_Nearly'_ you said. That means you didn't kill him, did you?"

"No… I could have… he was unconscious… at the end… but I walked away… and betrayed him."

"So he lives, and you can apologize and explain your reasons and maybe make amends and save your friendship." There was definite satisfaction in Nibiiro's voice as he said that.

"But! I can't-! I hurt him so much…"

"Because Orochimaru placed a curse on you that changed the chemical makeup in your mind so that all you could think about was the accumulation of power and how your friends were holding you back." Nibiiro stated firmly. "It wasn't your fault. If Orochimaru had left you alone, you'd still be in your village and we wouldn't be having this conversation. The fact that your soul fought against the curse strongly enough that you decided to spare your friend's life is a strong mark in your favor. If you were any less pure-hearted, you would have killed him."

"But I still may! The curse is-"

"That part of the curse is gone," Nibiiro said smugly, "I removed it."

"NA-NI!" Sasuke cried out loudly, then doubled over in an agonizing coughing spasm. Nibiiro grabbed him swiftly and held him until the spasm ceased, murmuring concern and encouragement the entire time. After the spasm eased he gave Sasuke some water, gently rubbed his chest to ease the pain, and placed the cloth back over his eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"…. My head hurts…"

"Let me make some willow tea, that should help."

"But… ano…"

"Hai?"

"… You really… removed the curse?" Sasuke couldn't believe it. The curse that even Kakashi had been unable to even neutralize was removed? Gone? Because of this stranger who had no real reason to help him?

"The part of the curse that affects your mind, at least. I told you didn't I? That I _made_ the curse?" Nibiiro said with a little conceit, "Orochimaru made weaker variations, but the two strongest, the Heaven seal and the Earth seal, were the two original variations that I made and tested. Because I made them, and understand them completely, I can remove them. If the curse had been more recently placed, or if it hadn't been in Second Stage, I would have been able to remove it completely. But, even though it's entrenched, I will be able to completely remove after a time." Sasuke's head was spinning, and not only from the illness.

"You…" he said in a dazed tone, "you're unbelievable."

"Yes, well, your tea's almost done"

"I still… I still don't… understand." Sasuke mumbled.

"Understand what?"

"Why you're… helping me… What's in it… for you?"

"Annoying Orochimaru, in part correcting a grave past mistake, the self-gratification that comes from helping someone in need without the expectation of being rewarded in return." Nibiiro explained, "That's basically it. I'm not going to pump you for return favors, or hold your debt to me over your head, it that's what you're wondering."

"A little… yes. Mostly… confused. Don't understand… why…"

"Because I want to. I owe allegiance to no individual or organization, save for one person who leaves me mostly to my own devices. Thus, I am free to do as I please, and I get bored. Taking care of you is something beneficial that I can do to fill my time."

"Ah, I see…" _I think._ _Tired, confused, this guy is so confusing… I still don't get why…_

"Does there need to be a why?" Nibiiro said suddenly.

"Eh?" Sasuke sat up, startled. How had this man known his thoughts?

"I don't read minds, but I can read faces and yours said 'I still don't understand' and just now said 'can he read minds?' I don't, but for someone like me, someone as open as you is like an unsealed scroll. Very easy to read."

"Good for you." Sasuke growled as he pulled the cloth that had slipped back over his eyes. He jerked a little as he felt a cup rim get placed against his lips.

"Here, the tea." Nibiiro had to help Sasuke drink again; whatever strength he had regained from the broth was gone due to all that had happened since then. "I think it be best if you slept now." He said when Sasuke had finished.

"Like I… got a choice…" Sasuke murmured as he felt lethargy weigh down his body, "There was... more than willow… in that tea… wasn't there?"

"Mm-hmm, standard practice for reluctant patients." Nibiiro said, unabashed. He grinned when Sasuke muttered some vague insults before drifting off into much-needed sleep. _I think I like this kid. He has spirit and is a good person at heart. I do believe I've accomplished much more than annoying Orochimaru in rescuing this boy._

He picked up the cup and bowl, placed them in the washbasin and looked back at the bed holding the boy, Sasuke. Already the youth had much more color than he had had when Nibiiro had snuck him out of the labyrinthine lair two nights ago. Because of his ability to make new jutsus and seals, creating a silent spy seal was very easy, and he had placed such seals in many places in Orochimaru's lair, allowing him to know when something of value was accessible.

So when that 'something' was a deathly ill, rebellious boy, the temptation to make off with this boy had been far too much to resist. Especially since the loneliness had been getting to be too much to bear. _Again._ _Well, I won't be lonely for awhile, this youth isn't going anywhere for a long time yet._ With that thought in mind, Nibiiro set about making dinner for himself and the invalid with a light heart.

* * *

A.S.: Here's chapter one, a set-up chapter. I know that's it's ambiguous and vague, it's meant to be. The next chapters go into a lot more detail, so if you're even a little curious, indulge yourself and keep going! It only gets better from here-

Sasuke: Not!

A.S.: Hush you! I swear it gets bett-

Sasuke: No it doesn't.

A.S.: Oi! Just because you get humiliated doesn't make it a bad fic!

Sasuke: Yes it does!

Nibiiro: Actually, she has a point!

Sasuke: Oi, oi! Who's side are you on anyway?

Nibiiro: Mine.

A.S.: (sweardrop) A-heh… Do you really wanna miss out on more of this?


	2. Why Allies?

Chap 2:

Authors Notes: Oh, shoot, I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter didn't I? Naruto and all its characters do not belong to me, they belong to their creator. Nibiiro Mouko is mine however, and you can't have him, nyah-nyi-nyah-nyah! His name, by the way, means 'Fierce Grey Tiger'. Er, Sorta; Nibiiro means 'dark grey', and Mouko means 'fierce tiger'.

This is a hint for things to come, another hint is that Masashi Kishimoto is very kind to us fanfic writer by leaving all the Bijuu between Ichibi and Kyuubi unknown. Yes, I will be introducing many of the Jinchuuriki, except for two. I'll also be putting down a lot of spoilers (as if you didn't know that from reading Chap. one).

I am assuming that everyone is up to the same point I am, Naruto's return to Konoha village after a two and a half years of training with Jiriya, Sasuke still AWOL, and Gaara kidnapped and drained. If you aren't there and wish to be, Naruto (slash) kun (dot) com is a good source for downloadable manga. If you aren't there and don't wish to be until the manga is officially released _and_ don't want to read spoilers, then quit reading and leave already! And on that note- uh, where'd everybody go? Oro……

_# Italics# -_demon speech

_"" Italics "" _- telepathy

_Full sentance italics_ -thought

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Nibiiro had rescued Sasuke and the youth was up and about, barely. He could tend to his own needs, like eating, bathing and using the outhouse, but those simple tasks tended to exhaust what little strength he had. This greatly frustrated Sasuke, in spite of the explanation that Nibiiro had offered.

"It wasn't just the illness, although that was a big part of it. The main reason you're so weak right now is because your body was made to fight against itself. The curse-seal took over a part of your body and the rest of you was fighting against the curse and the part of you it controlled. You were fighting a war inside of yourself and were nearly dead because of it, so of course you have no strength left. If you had been left for even two more days, you would be dead right now."

That was all well and good, but Sasuke wanted to _do _things again! _I can't just sit here and lick my wounds, I have to train and get strong again! That was part of the reason I left, I need to get more strength so that I can kill Itachi! Laying on my ass and taking Nibiiro's _charity_ isn't getting Itachi killed-_

"Hey Sasuke, c'mere a minute!" Nibiiro called from outside the elaborate cave dwelling that he lived in. It was a rather impressive home; Sasuke had been amazed in spite of himself when he had become healthy enough to inspect the place. It was a large, natural cave system that had been enlarged and improved upon without losing any of its organic feel.

It was also very discrete and well hidden; from outside, you'd think it was only a series of openings in the cliff face. And yet the front rooms were light and airy and the back rooms quiet and non-claustrophobic. That Nibiiro had made all the improvements by himself was the thing that astonished Sasuke the most.

"What is it?" Sasuke called back. He was irritated, each and every time he started thinking about leaving to train on his own Nibiiro interrupted him with something that would last until Sasuke was too tired to do more than eat and pass out.

The man didn't read minds; the youth had tested that, not believing the older man's protests to that effect. After the third time of having his planning session interrupted, Sasuke had thought some particularly dirty and vile thoughts at Nibiiro that would have done Naruto proud.

Nibiiro would have had to respond in some way if he had heard or seen them, but he had continued in his lesson of herbology (which had been genuinely interesting, Sasuke had remembered what he had learned past the verbal quiz Nibiiro had given him, which was better than his Konoha teacher had done). Still, each and every thing that Nibiiro had called his guest out for had turned out to be interesting, making Sasuke inclined to go to him.

Nibiiro himself had turned out to be rather interesting as well thus far. He was tall and broad shouldered, which allowed him to use his giant broadsword with casual skill. He had longish, dark hair and grey eyes (which may have been part of the source of his name) and a gentle, rectangular face that could become very stern on the rare occasions he was angered. He was friendly, patient and easy-going, but blazingly intelligent and surprisingly secretive about personal details.

Sasuke had asked young adult precisely how old he was and the older shinobi had answered: "Old enough, young grasshopper" in a jocular tone and had left, with Sasuke shaking in mortal fear from the death aura that Nibiiro had exuded. Sasuke had never asked about anything personal since. He did not want this person to be an enemy; the first engagement with Nibiiro would be the last for anyone under the level of Jounin.

"Just hurry up and c'mere," the 'dangerous person' said from the dwelling entrance in a friendly, eager voice, "Follow me, before she leaves."

_Huh? She?_ Sasuke thought, intrigued despite his earlier decision to be irritated. He followed Nibiiro deep into the forested terrain around the cave dwelling and was almost completely exhausted by the time they reached Nibiiro's goal, a ledge overlooking a steep valley. Before they reached the edge of the cliff, Nibiiro crouched and motioned for Sasuke to approach low and quietly. The youth did so and looked down; and stifled a gasp of surprise.

Below them by the lake in the valley was one of the giant Summons' Eagles, getting a drink. It was unfathomably rare to see one of the Summons' Beasts in the wild. They were all incredibly shy and more than intelligent enough to detect and avoid humans if they wished.

"That's Azasu," Nibiiro whispered into Sasuke's ear, "She and her mate, Akura, nest in the mountains near here. They know I live here, and we've made fair bargains in the past, so they tolerate my presence. Still, they don't like being watched, and I rarely ever see them."

"Then how can you make bargains with them, if you can rarely find them?" asked Sasuke as he stared at the Eagle.

"I flag them down from that cliff over there." Nibiiro explained as he pointed to a highly visible ledge on the opposing mountain face. "They usually stop to at least listen to my request, and since it's usually quick transportation, they often oblige me. They don't have hands, so they have to rely on people like me to help them with some things."

"Ah," Sasuke said. His eyes never left the Eagle, for she was shockingly beautiful. Her feathers were variegated shades of brown, grey and a touch of gold all in elaborated patterns. While this was very striking, it also made very good camouflage. If she hadn't been outlined by the deep blue of the lake, Sasuke would have been hard pressed to spot her. Although the brightly colored, feather patterned, beaded collar helped there as well.

Suddenly, Azasu threw her head back and let out a deep, but piercing scream. The immediate answer from above made Sasuke very glad that there were thick trees hiding Nibiiro and himself from view, however hard they were to move through.

The male Eagle dove down and landed nest to his mate. The deer clutched in his talons allowed Sasuke to fully grasp just how large the Eagles were. The deer was in proportion to the Eagles as a small hare was to a large hawk.

Sasuke filed that bit of information away for future reference and admired the male. Smaller than his mate, Akura was still far more stunning. His colors were deeper, the patterns bolder and more clearly defined and there was more gold at the tips of his wings, tail and crest. Judging by the more elaborate collar and the bracelets around his legs where his mate had none, Sasuke guessed that the male was perhaps a bit vain.

The male didn't allow himself to be admired for long however, for the sharp-eyed Eagle was very sharp-eyed indeed. The male swiveled his head around to glare first at Nibiiro, then at Sasuke, and then back to Nibiiro. The Eagle narrowed his eyes before he pointedly turned his back and spread his wings to shield his feeding mate from view.

"Oops, I think that's what they call a hint!" Nibiiro said with a soft laugh, "I think we should leave."

"I would say that that's a good idea." Sasuke agreed. He hadn't missed how sharp those talons were or how large that beak was.

He had served a stint caring for the messenger eagles back in his trainee days. He would never forget how an unwary fellow trainee had lost his eye to an angered hawk, or how the senior handler's arms had been covered with deep scars from the talons of his charges. And if that was the kind of damage a normal sized bird could do, what kind of damage could an Eagle of Azasu's and Akura's size inflict? Sasuke didn't care to find out.

They belly-crawled back a ways, stood and headed back to the cave. They didn't go too far at first thought; Sasuke's recovering strength had been exhausted by the walk to the cliff. Nibiiro found a rock for Sasuke to sit on and filled the silence by describing all the more common Summons' Beasts and the ways that a person could bargain with them without swearing to the Blood-Pact.

While it was all very interesting and Sasuke could see how this could be potentially useful later on, it wasn't what he wanted now.

"I'm sure that learning how to get a Summons' Wolf to aid you is something that every shinobi needs to know, but how is that helping me recover my strength and get stronger!" He snapped, his frustration coming to a boil.

"Sasuke-" Nibiiro started.

"NO! I'm not going to let you patronize me and say that I've been very ill and I need to give myself more time. It's been _two weeks_! I should be more recovered than this, _and _be able to do more than sit on my ass or walk around a _very_ little! I need to get stronger! I need to train! I can't just _sit_ here and listen to your stupid lectures that don't do _shit_ for my power level! I have to get strong enough to kill Itachi and get revenge!" Sasuke finally stopped and panted a bit from the force of his emotions.

"You done?" Nibiiro asked. Sasuke nodded mutely, faintly ashamed of his outburst. "Itachi, huh? That's a high goal. But if you went about it right, you could probably get him killed now."

"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm nowhere near strong enough to beat him myself." Sasuke asked, greatly confused.

"Not by yourself, but with allies-"

"'_Allies'_?" Sasuke said scornfully, "Fake strength." Nibiiro stared at Sasuke thoughtfully for a moment, then leaned over and flung him over his shoulder. Sasuke squawked in surprise and then let out a full-fledged string of protests and insults. Nibiiro ignored him save for a single statement of: "There's something I want to show you and it's a fair ways away."

The youth soon realized after they got there that there was no way he would have been able to follow Nibiiro to the place on his own. It took a fair amount of time to get there and Nibiiro had been moving at a decent speed.

'There' was a large geological anomaly; a vast sunken field of stone pillars and spires. Nibiiro dropped Sasuke gently then walked over to the edge of the ridge they were on that overlooked the field. Sasuke was beginning to get the feeling that he was in very mountainous terrain, what with all the cliffs and sunken valleys he had seen within the last few hours.

Many of the spires rose much higher than Nibiiro's head even from where he was standing on the ledge with the valley floor many meters below him. He unsheathed his broadsword as he studied the pillars. Now Sasuke was even more confused.

Nibiiro's sword was much more impressive than Zabuza's oversized war cleaver. A true, double-edged broadsword; with its tip sunk about two inches in the ground, the hilt still rose to about Nibiiro's chin. And that was the base of the hilt, not the pommel nut. It was proportionately wider than the standard broadsword by about half a width, making it even heavier still. Nibiiro wielded it like it was a flimsy bamboo shinai.

The older teen suddenly went into action after standing with statue-like stillness for a few moments. He lunged forward about two yards, sweeping his sword horizontally in front of him. He struck nothing, but all the stone pillars in front of him, fanning out at about 120 degree angel, were suddenly sheared off at the exact same height; at the same level that Nibiiro had swung his sword.

Sasuke was in shock. He could visualize someone cracking _a_ pillar like that with air pressure from a sword alone if they were a yard or so away. But Nibiiro was several yards away from the nearest pillar, and all of the ones in front of him to the opposite edge of the field were shorn.

_Chakra use maybe?_ Sasuke thought, then almost mentally dismissed the idea, it was incredibly hard to channel chakra through an object like this. But he realized that he had felt _some_ chakra use, just very little. It had been so finely used that it had resembled a paper-thin razor. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke could see that the near pillars had been cut to a glossy finish, as if they'd been polished. That was how fine Nibiiro's chakra control was, even through a tool.

"_That_" Nibiiro said, causing Sasuke to stare at him instead of at the field, and to close his slack jaw, "is strength." He pointed to the field with his sword, but Sasuke kept staring at him. "Strength enough to kill Itachi, and perhaps Orochimaru as well. Do you know why I do not kill such people even though I have enough strength and they are worthy of killing?"

Sasuke mutely shook his head.

"Because I would only be able to kill them in a one-on-one fight. But they have allies and followers that they would immediately call upon to help. I would have to call on my allies as well, but they do not care to fight with such at this moment. But, if my allies did come, and it was a two-on-two or a three-on-three battle, my allies and I would win, even though our strength and our opponents' is about equal. Do you know why?"

Again, Sasuke mutely shook his head.

"Because my allies are my allies in truth, not in happenstance. We stand together in battle pooling our strength honestly, not insisting to stand alone and just fight in the same fight."

"But…" Sasuke asked nervously, "isn't the second better? Forcing you to be truly strong?"

"If you insist that all your fights be one-on-one, tournament-style, which almost never happens in real life."

"But… if you always rely on allies, aren't you using them as a crutch? You always lean on them and never develop yourself. And when the real fight comes, you never really know who was strongest, the enemy who stood alone or you with all your back-up." Sasuke sounded very certain of this, but so did Nibiiro about his philosophy.

"But true allies are a different strength," Nibiiro explained, "and one that someone like Itachi could never have. He insists on a weaker strength of solitude."

"I don't understand." Sasuke confessed. Nibiiro stared at Sasuke again, thinking hard.

"I have an idea for a visual, but we need to go back home for me to show it to you." He said finally. Nibiiro sheathed his sword into its special back scabbard and offered a hand to Sasuke. The younger Nin took it but was only able to walk a short ways before he needed to rest again. This time, he didn't complain when Nibiiro swung him up over his shoulder. Verbally at least.

* * *

When they finally reached the cave dwelling, Nibiiro gently set Sasuke on his feet then went inside. The youth followed, his mind still churning with what he had seen.

"C'mere" Nibiiro beckoned from the 'dining room' table. Sasuke could see that the older Nin had a game set on the table. It was a tile game called Dominos that he had introduced to the younger Nin. Nibiiro had also shown him a mildly entertaining trick of setting up a string of Domino tiles on their narrow end then knocking over the first one in the string to start a chain reaction that ended in all the tiles being knocked over.

Nibiiro had set a string of tiles up like this but in a slightly different formation this time. Instead of the tiles facing each other, they had been set beside each other, 'shoulder to shoulder' almost.

"This," Nibiiro explained as Sasuke sat across from him, "represents Akastsuki. They are in a group, but stand alone. They are an organization, but they're not together. And watch this." He took another tile and set it on its angled edge facing one of the Akastsuki tiles and let go.

The tile naturally fell over and hit the Akastsuki tile and knock it over. He repeated the process until all nine of the Akastsuki tiles were knocked over. Sasuke wanted to say: 'great, so what? If you hit a tile with another tile they fall over. What's that prove?' But he kept silent since Nibiiro wasn't done yet.

Nibiiro picked up the tiles and set them on their narrow ends again, only this time facing each other and pushed together.

"Now these represent any nine, strong Konoha ninjas. They are in a group and they can stand on they're own but are together, unlike Akastsuki. And if the exact same amount of force is brought to bear against them…" He took the other tile and let it fall against the face of one of the outermost tiles. The struck tile wiggled a bit, was braced by the second tile in the lineup and didn't fall. The striking tile fell to lie flat on the tabletop while the other nine remained standing.

Sasuke sat back in his chair, the point crashing down on him all at once.

"You understand now?" Nibiiro asked, "All of the Konoha ninjas can stand on their own power, but when something drastic happens, they know that they can rely on their allies to support them and brace them against falling until they can stand on their own again." Sasuke nodded in understanding. Nibiiro watched the youth stare at the tiles, his eyes turned inward in thought. "Well, while you're resting, I'll make dinner." He said as he stood and headed to the 'kitchen'.

Sasuke just sat and stared at the tiles for a while, then picked up the double zero tile. He flipped it over and over while he thought about what Nibiiro had shown him. The double zero tile's front and back were almost indistinguishable from each other, save for a straight horizontal line across the width of its face. _Just as the rogue Nin's are indistinguishable from loyal Nin's save that the rogues often make a horizontal cut across the symbol of their headbands. I doubt Sasuke missed that aspect. _Nibiiro thought.

The youth did revive a little before Nibiiro finished making dinner and cleared the Domino tiles away before the older teen brought the food to the table. The two started eating, Nibiiro being uncharacteristically silent. Sasuke had noted that his companion was almost always talking, and if he wasn't talking, he was humming or muttering under his breath about something. _He even talks in his sleep sometimes_. But something was still bugging Sasuke.

"You said," he began, catching Nibiiro's attention, "that if you and an ally fought against two of the Akastsuki of equal strength, you would win. How?"

Nibiiro set down his chopsticks and thought about how to best phrase his answer. "It's because of trust," he said finally, "Say that I was fighting beside a trusted friend, Ashante, against Itachi and one of his allies. I trust Ashante with my life, and she trusts me the same way and we both know that we'd never betray each other. So when we fight, we can focus entirely on the battle and not on watching our backs.

"Itachi doesn't have that. He doesn't trust his allies, for they are allies only for as long as they have a mutual goal. Akastsuki members never know when one of their number may betray the others, so they are always watching their backs. So in a fight, their attention will be divided between fighting Ashante and I and watching their 'ally', making sure he doesn't indulge in backstabbing at a convenient moment."

Sasuke thought about this carefully. "Alright, I see that. But often time's friend-allies will take an injury for each other." Sasuke was thinking back to when he took Haku's needle attack for Naruto.

"But on the reverse side, non-friend-allies will not even divert attacks for each other if there is even a potential for injury. So it goes both ways." Nibiiro countered. Sasuke nodded in understanding and resumed eating. Nibiiro smiled; he'd clearly won his point.

Nibiiro finished his meal first and stood to put his dishes away. "Go to bed when you're done," he said as he passed Sasuke and ruffled the younger Nin's hair, "you can wash up in the morning."

Sasuke jerked up in surprise at the physical demonstration of affection and inadvertently pressed his head more firmly into Nibiiro's hand, which made the grey-eyed Nin prolong the friendly caress. The youth was shocked, but Nibiiro didn't notice, he set his dishes in the sink then went to his favorite chair with a scroll. The younger Nin stared at the older without comprehension.

Sasuke's family had never been physical in their affection, or even verbal. The closest that Sasuke's father had ever come to an affectionate demonstration was his statement of 'You are indeed my son'. Sasuke's mother had barely been any more affectionate. In fact, the closest that his immediate family had ever come to a physical demonstration was Itachi poking Sasuke in the forehead occasionally. No one had ever done something so _kind_ as to _ruffle his hair_. He didn't really know how he felt about it.

_Ah, I'm thinking about this too much. That's just the way Nibiiro is, I should know this by now._ But… still, it felt a little bit like an invasion of personal space. _Like getting flung over his shoulder like a sack of rice isn't?_ He asked himself. He gave himself a mental shake, and finished his dinner. And tried to suppress the urge to flatten his hair after it had been roughed up. _I really am thinking about that ruffle too much.

* * *

_

Nibiiro watched as Sasuke rose, put his dishes away then flopped into his futon. Then the grey-eyed Nin sensed a very familiar and welcome presence in his mind. _#Oh? You're awake?# _he asked.

_#Yeah. I like that kid.#_ said the demon that had been a constant in Nibiiro's life.

_#How long have you been watching, Byakko?#_

_#Long enough to witness that show-off-for-the-audience, stupid stunt you pulled this afternoon.# _Byakko, the White, Four-Tailed Tiger, also known as the Bijuu Shibi, said sardonically. Nibiiro winced, he had known, afterwards, that the demonstration he'd given Sasuke was probably a not-so-smart thing. The only reason he'd done it was because he was getting frustrated with Sasuke's loner attitude. It had certainly been exhausting enough, the reason he'd sat as soon as he got into his home was because he was genuinely about to collapse.

_#It was even more idiotic than that. The reason I am awake is because you attracted attention of the less favorable kind.#_

_#Shit! Please tell me it's not-#_

_#Akastsuki? Yes, but only one from what I can sense, which is very odd.#_

_#Very odd indeed. And very fortunate as far as I'm concerned.#_

_#Indeed, if it is not some kind of trap. The young one there would be determined to repay you in some way if there were two, and may still, if you are not careful.# _Byakko replied. Nibiiro pulled the scroll up to hide his face as he grimaced. He was used to these silent conversations, but Sasuke was perturbed enough by Nibiiro's habit of singing quietly or muttering at inanimate objects without having to see his caretaker converse silently with nothing at all.

_#So, how soon do you think this unfavorable company is going to come into strike range?# _Nibiiro asked.

_#Soon, tomorrow I believe, if he does not pull some kind of transportational ability stunt.#_

_#Good, that'll give me time to recover fully. I can't plan how to fight until I know who I'm fighting, or if there _is_ going to be a trap or not. Now the problem is keeping Sasuke here where he's safe.#_ Nibiiro mulled.

_#That, my good friend, is your problem. And I wish you well in that, the boy has potential.#_

_#Potential?#_ the Jinchuuriki asked in interest.

_#Goodnight!#_ Byakko replied cheerfully, receding from Nibiiro's forward-most mind. He growled softly, then quickly glanced at the futon to see if Sasuke had heard. But the youth was dead asleep, which was a good thing. His sleep had been interrupted multiple times each night by screaming nightmares, usually two to three times per night ever since he had recovered enough to _sleep_ and not enter a brief comatose-like state. _I probably should go to bed now as well, if I'm gong to be fighting for my life in the morning._

Nibiiro couldn't help but grin cynically at that thought. The idea of fighting for his life against someone who wanted to kill _him_ and not a ninja from Hidden Grass was far from new. This had caused him to have near split personalities; the gentle side that Sasuke was familiar with, then the cruel, hard side that he had not yet seen. If Byakko hadn't taken such an interest in His host's mental health, Nibiiro would probably be completely psychotic, if not dead from multiple Villages declaring him lethal and hunting him.

_Still, I don't want Sasuke to see that other side, not yet. Maybe it's stupid, but I think that Sasuke could be a real friend. I really, really want a friend who can live with me. Unlike Ashante and Laniana, who don't dare congregate at all. Well, to bed._ He stood, put away his scroll, and then went to bed.

* * *

In the morning, Sasuke was surprised to see Nibiiro up, dressed and strapping on- not his usual sword, but a special on he'd only seen once. A little shorter and a little broader than Nibiiro's usual sword, this one could be split into two unique pieces. The first piece was the inner part of the whole blade, which was shaped like a normal-sized broad sword, except that it was _two _blades on the same hilt facing each other. The wounds from that blade would be really nasty since the parallel cuts would be too close together to stitch properly, inviting infection.

The second piece of the weapon was the outer part of the blade, and it was more unique. It was U or V shaped with a crossbar handle in the center of the hollow and a brace that rested against the wrist for stability. When Sasuke had seen him with the special blade separated before, Nibiiro had been training. The grey-eyed Nin had become a human threshing machine when he'd gone into full swing.

Nibiiro noticed that Sasuke was awake.

"Ohayo, Sasuke. I'm afraid I'm going to have to demand that you stay here today." he said, his face devoid of the usual friendliness that Sasuke had become accustomed to. The statement was rather abrupt as well, completely unlike the Nibiiro that Sasuke knew.

"Ah… Why?" That was all he could think to say. He'd had a better night than usual, only one screaming nightmare and three smaller ones that had forced him to wake up, but he was still groggy. Sasuke had never been good with mornings, despite his poses to the contrary.

"Because there is something I need to do and I need you to stay here." Nibiiro replied in that same cold manner. Now Sasuke was coming completely awake from the adrenaline rush caused by the coldness. But he hid it, if his year with Orochimaru had taught him anything , it was that when you were forbidden to do something that sounded mysterious and interesting, feign obedience and do it anyway.

"Um, okay…" Sasuke said meekly. Nibiiro's face lost some of the coldness.

"Thanks Sasuke, I promise to explain later." He said more kindly, "I apologize for my rudeness as well." Sasuke blinked.

"Urm… apology accepted. But it had better be a good explanation!" The youth demanded. All of the coldness left Nibiiro at that point, but an underlying tension remained.

"Ha! Yes sir!" Nibiiro laughed, "Now, there's food ready over there," he pointed to the 'kitchen' with his chin, "make sure you clean up after yourself. I should be back before lunch, but if I'm not you know where the rice is." Sasuke nodded obediently, refraining from mentioning that he was probably the world's worst cook. "And make sure you wash yourself too! You stink!" The grey-eyed Nin said as he walked out.

_I do not stink!_ Sasuke thought defiantly, then sniffed, _okay maybe I do. A little…_ He ate and washed quickly, then set off after Nibiiro, praying that the other wasn't going too far for Sasuke's limited resources to follow. As it turned out, while Nibiiro was a long way out, his path led Sasuke through some fairly mild terrain. His path was easily tracked as well, at least for the most part. But at the end, the tracks vanished. It wasn't a problem however, there was a commotion going on ahead of the youth. Sasuke squashed his chakra flat and crept up using all the stealth he had available to him. His curiosity was killing him, he knew the sound of a battle anywhere! What was going on up there?

He came up to yet another cliff edge and quickly hid up a tree near the edge. In this landscape of geological anomalies he was actually unsurprised to see a more normal anomaly. A dry, salt lakebed; upon which Nibiiro was engaged in an all-out sword battle with a figure that was burned into Sasuke's memory: Itachi's Akastsuki partner, Houshigaki Kisame.

* * *

AN: Okay, second chapter's up. It's past midnight right now, going to bed... hope you're happy. Soooo sleepyeeee...zzzzzz.zzzzzzzzz.zzzzzzzz. 


	3. Why Battle?

Chap 3

Author Notes: Well, now we're getting into the meat of the story… for the first section.

_# italics# -_ demon speech

_"" italics"" -_telepathy

_Full sentance italics -_ personal thought

* * *

_This isn't right…_ Nibiiro thought as he stalked up to Kisame, wrinkling his nose at the scent of the dead, salted earth. Kisame was standing out in the open on the salt flat, _this _really_ isn't right!_ Being what he was, Nibiiro had had many encounters with Akastsuki before in the past, and not a one of them had been like this, so bold and straight forward. The Akastsuki members seemed to prefer stealth and the shadows to overt movements and the light; plus they always came in pairs. Not that it mattered now, save that by pondering this, Nibiiro might be able to gain a clue as to what Kisame was planning.

When the Shibi Jinchuuriki came within fifteen yards of the Shark of Akastsuki, Kisame drew and unwrapped his infamous sword in a clear threat gesture. Taking the hint for what is was, Nibiiro did the same, and whispered a silent request for aid to the Tiger inside of him. The two combatants came within five yards of each other and froze for moment, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Nibiiro spared a brief second of inattention for worry that Sasuke not disobey and follow him here, and that was all that Kisame needed to launch his attack.

Not that Nibiiro would truly be vulnerable over such a small thing; he parried the Shark's over-handed swing with ease, broke the cut, and launched a horizontal slash of his own. Kisame leaped back, dug his feet in and lunged with diagonal downward thrust and the battle was fully engaged.

In a sword-battle, the two were evenly matched, their stature was similar, their prowess was equal, even their sword size and shape was relatively the same. If they stayed locked in a sword fight, the deciding factor would be stamina and cunning. But they were Akastsuki and Jinchuuriki. It was not, could not stay a straight forward sword fight.

Nibiiro made the first move. He bound Kisame's blade, mindful of its rasping effects and with an effort, shoved Kisame back and off balance to his knees. Taking advantage of the moment's respite, he split his sword into its two pieces and charged the Shark. Kisame was equal to the challenge and although he was on his knees, he cut upward, forcing Nibiiro to backpedal and jerk backwards, but not before Kisame got first blood via a hair-width cut across Nibiiro's face. Then the Jinchuuriki swung his body around and lashed out with the double-blade, but Kisame parried that. He was, however, unprepared for the second blade aiming for his midsection from the other side.

The Shark was forced to block the outline-blade with his hand and jump back, panting and reassessing his foe.

"A bit much for you?" Nibiiro asked, the first words uttered since the start of the battle.

"Hardly, Shibi." Kisame growled back. "Try countering _this!_" The Shark slammed his bloodied palm on to the ground and expelled chakra in a Summons. Two Sharks, a Hammer-head and a Bull shark, appeared in midair and turned to Kisame.

"What's the meaning of calling us to such a horrid, dry place, mortal fool?" The Bull shark demanded.

"Fresh meat" Kisame replied, pointing with his blade. The two Sharks turned and looked over Nibiiro appraisingly.

"That will do, for now." The Hammer-head said reluctantly, "But we demand better tribute from you later." They charged, swimming through the air as if it were their natural element.

"You think I'm unprepared for this?" Nibiiro demanded as he easily dodged the clumsy Sharks and nearly lopped off one of the hammer-head's protruding eyes. As he twisted with the dodge, the grey-eyed fighter bit hard on his thumb then slammed his palm against the ground as well. Two giant Tigers appeared and immediately attacked the Sharks. Unlike Kisame, Nibiiro had his allies' full cooperation and not entirely because he was the vessel for their lord and master, Byakko. And the Tiger was taking full interest in the battle, lending His power to His vessel, altering Nibiiro's facial features into a bestial mask.

Nibiiro's danger-sense kicked into high gear and he ducked and rolled as Kisame slammed his sword down on the spot were the Jinchuuriki had been, then pressed his hands together to unleash some of his jutsus. Nibiiro shot to his feet and pranced back as a jet of water powered its way to him. He then grabbed the hilt of the double blade with his teeth, tucked the outline blade in his elbow and returned the gesture of the jutsus'.

Kage Bushin, shadow clone, to be parried by Kisame's water clones. Then a water dragon form sent Nibiiro scampering to the left, were the water jet had shot previously. He growled, dropping the sword in his teeth, as his feet became stuck in the viscous mud hidden just one inch under the salt layer, which had been melted away by Kisame's summoned water attacks.

"Hah!" The Hidden Rain Nin crowed triumphantly as Nibiiro struggled to move with his usual agility. "Now do you see why I brought you out here, Jinchuuriki? Not only is there the mud, but the ground here is too toxic with salt for your precious, demon-spawned plants to grow! You're helpless!" Kisame launched another water dragon at Nibiiro, making him backpedal deeper into the mud and also making a nice water layer for the Shark to charge across, still cackling with presumed victory. Nibiiro smirked.

_Focus chakra in the feet, then-_ Nibiiro shot skyward just as Kisame slashed his sword across the spot were he had been; for the second time.

"Remind me to thank you for melting the salt!" Nibiiro yelled down. With Byakko's power, he spun out an invisible matrix deep into the uncovered muck, to the mostly-decayed plant matter within it. With a mental twist, huge, thick vines snaked their way out and launched at Kisame and the two Sharks still doing battle with the Tigers. The Sharks were caught off-guard and were crushed by the thick vines, but Kisame successfully dodged and sliced at the vines.

Nibiiro landed lightly on the back of one of the Tigers and charged the retreating Akastsuki. On the way, he grabbed a small stem off of one of the vines and rewove the chakra matrix through it to outside the salt flat.

As the Tiger passed Kisame, Nibiiro lashed out with the outline blade, which he hadn't dropped as he had the double blade. Kisame parried and didn't even see the small stem land at his feet. He did see the effects of his distraction though, a small, dense forest sprung up around him as roots from the trees outside the salt flat sought out the stem, engulfing and crush him amongst the thick trunks. Nibiiro had won, but…

_That was _way _too easy. Something is definitely not right. But before that…_

"You can come out now Sasuke." Nibiiro called as he swung off the Summons' Tiger's back before dismissing it. He glared over at a clump of trees on an overlooking ledge where a slight form guiltily emerged. Nibiiro had sensed a slight spike of chakra before it had been stifled while he had been engaged in the earlier sword fight. By ignoring it, he had hoped to convince Kisame that the spike was of no consequence. Apparently it had worked; Kisame had been entirely focused on the battle.

Nibiiro felt his face become a hard, cold mask and glared at the young, sulky Nin as the youth approached. Sasuke refused to look Nibiiro directly in the eye, a clear sign of reluctant guilt.

"What, precisely, were you thinking?" Nibiiro asked coldly. The rage of battle was still burning in him and Sasuke's stunt was vastly un-amusing.

"You gave me no reason to believe that this was any more important than a meeting with the Eagles." Sasuke lied. Nibiiro took a deep breath.

"No reason… Are your eyes just for decoration? Is that brain of yours so ineffectual? Are you mentally handicapped!" Nibiiro yelled, "Are you so intellectually deficient that you couldn't grasp the significance of my sword! Are you such a nimrod that my warning had no effect? Why the hell did I waste my time _rescuing_ and _nursing_ such an _idiot_?" Nibiiro's verbal abuse continued for a few minute's as he became truly _enraged _before Sasuke's temper snapped.

"Why the hell should I trust what you say?" Sasuke yelled back, "You've never given me any reason to think that you're trustworthy or have good judgment! Why shouldn't I spy on you? I have no reason to think you'd be truthful, so why shouldn't I look out for myself-" Sasuke's rant was cut short by a hard back-handed blow to the face. Sasuke stood with his head hanging to the side, blinking in surprise.

"You're right, you don't know if you can trust me or not. Make up your mind now; leave or stay. Because I'm leaving." Nibiiro growled, "Akastsuki has to know I'm here now and-" He cut off as he looked back at the trees he had called up. Without the continued support of Nibiiro's chakra, they were receding back into the earth, revealing the mangled corpse. It wasn't Kisame, but some unknown Nin, surrounded by ashes.

* * *

The language that came out of Nibiiro's mouth when he discovered the unexpected switch left Sasuke wishing he could take notes for later reference. But he was still feeling bitter and angry, and guilty. Everything that Nibiiro had said had a point; he had chosen to ignore the danger that was evidenced by the older teen's behavior. He had deliberately convinced himself that whatever Nibiiro was doing was going to be interesting, not dangerous.

And what Sasuke had done was even more potentially dangerous. If the Kisame clone had sensed him, or had cared, Sasuke would have made a perfect hostage. Nibiiro hadn't spent so much time in nursing the youth only to let the Shark kill him, and Sasuke was still too weak to even _defend_ himself. He would have been helpless to prevent the Kisame clone from doing whatever he wished, and Nibiiro would have been held helpless as well. Or later soul-sick for letting Sasuke get killed when he could have prevented it; another kind of Akastsuki victory.

Nibiiro gave the corpse one last glare then turned and stalked off.

"You leaving or staying?" he growled over his shoulder. Sasuke opted not to answer and just followed silently. His pride may have been smarting from Nibiiro's harsh words and the blow to the face, but Sasuke's sense of guilt was throbbing even more so. He'd put the person who had cared for him and taught him useful things with no thought to repayment in great danger and only luck had kept them both safe.

Nibiiro stomped on in a temper for a couple of miles as Sasuke struggled to keep up before the older teen stopped dead and heaved a sigh.

"I'm sorry." he said

"Ahh…" the younger fighter replied intelligently.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you and I'm very sorry I struck you. You may have warranted some harsh words with your behavior, but I went far beyond the call of duty with my actions." Nibiiro sighed again, "I was, and am, angry and frustrated with Akastsuki; I like where I live and I don't want to leave and I'm _really_ tired with being hunted like a dangerous, wild animal. And I was worried. About you; and I took all of it out on you and that was completely uncalled for."

"I… I'm sorry too." Sasuke almost-whispered, "I… I knew that you must have had a reason, a good one, for taking that sword, and I chose to ignore it in favor of being suspicious…" He trailed off.

The youth was rather unaccustomed to making apologies, preferring to make it up to the person he had wronged instead, therefore never having to admit his fault. But Nibiiro had made a gesture of good will here, admitting a fault were there was barely any on his part. This gesture compelled Sasuke to return it, it was only fair. Nibiiro looked over his shoulder and gave his companion a quirked grin.

"So we both admit we fucked up, works for me." He said jauntily. Sasuke smiled back weakly.

"So, ah, where are we going?" He asked, emboldened by Nibiiro easy acceptance of his apology. "And, um, why are they…" He trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should ask about the reason Akastsuki was after his companion and caretaker. It might lead to a sensitive issue, and Sasuke didn't want to mess up again so soon. Nibiiro heaved a weary sigh at the last question and motioned for Sasuke to continue walking with him.

"For the first question," he said as he walked at a much slower and more easily followed pace, "remember that ledge I pointed out yesterday, where I flag down the Eagles? I want to get out of here _now_ and that means using a quicker method of transportation than my own two feet. After that, I'm heading to the place of a friend of mine; she needs to know about this attack, which leads me to your second question." Nibiiro paused as he thought out the best way to answer such an issue.

"To start with, what do you know about the Bijuu and the Jinchuuriki?" he asked.

"The what and the who?" Sasuke asked in reply, glancing over at the older teen with surprise. Nibiiro winced in a way that suggested that he feared that answer but expected it anyway.

"I was afraid of that, virtually none of the Leafs of your generation knows about that."

"What? Why? How come?"

"Weelp… there's an answer to that, and it starts with the attack by the Nine-tailed Fox demon on Konoha village thirteen, fourteen years ago. You heard about that I expect?" Nibiiro asked, cocking his head to look at Sasuke. The youth nodded slowly, watching his companion. "That was the Kyuubi, the Nine-tailed Demon Beast. The Tailed Beasts are incredibly powerful and it took an incredibly powerful Jutsu by the Forth to seal Kyuubi away. To seal him into a specific person to be precise. The effort killed the Fourth, as you may know, and permanently changed the life of the newborn infant the Fox was sealed into. The Third, in his wisdom, decided that the fate of the infant was going to be cruel enough without him being harassed by his age group for being 'different' and forbade the subject of the Bijuu and Jinchuuriki from ever being spoken about, especially to the children." Nibiiro paused for breath.

"This child…" Sasuke asked, slightly stunned, "who…"

"You know him very well, Sasuke, you worried over the fact that you nearly killed him the entire time you were fevered." Nibiiro said somberly. Sasuke's face became mask like, and Nibiiro continued. "You also know two others who are Jinchuuriki like Naruto; the one who holds Ichibi, Shukaku, is Gaara, which is something I only recently learned."

"And the other?" the youth questioned hesitantly.

"You're talking to him right now." The young adult answered softly. "In me is Byakko, Shibi, the Four-tailed Tiger." Nibiiro stopped and turned to face Sasuke fully. "Knowing this, knowing that there is a _demon_ sealed inside of me, do you still want to stay with me?" The slightly older fighter looked down at the slightly younger one and struggled to keep his fear and anxiety completely internal. He prayed that Sasuke would say that he wasn't bothered by the fact that his caretaker was essentially possessed and feared a full and complete rejection. He'd been alone and friendless for so long…

"Before I make any decisions, I want to know more." Sasuke said slowly after a few minutes of careful thought. "You don't act the way Gaara did, and neither did Naruto. There has to be something more to this than meets the eye and I want to know what it is."

Nibiiro slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. "It's two things actually. The seal that was placed on Naruto is much tighter than the one on Gaara, hence the reason the Fourth died in placing it."

"And with you as well?" Queried Sasuke. Nibiiro shook his head.

"It didn't need to be tight for me to keep my sanity, although the person who placed it on me didn't know, or care…" Nibiiro paused, his expression briefly revealing the full extent of his hate, enough to cause Sasuke to step back in shock. The young adult shook his head again and smiled reassuringly at the youth.

"There are two different kinds of Bijuu among the Nine, the Odds and the Evens. Those with an odd number of Tails tend to be more vicious and cruel, while the even Tailed Beasts tend to be more gentle and friendly. Byakko is very friendly to me, and has looked after me since my birth in place of my parents. We sometimes speak silently when he's awake, so if you ever see me staring off into space, don't worry, I'm probably talking to Byakko."

"Probably," Sasuke teased, smiling his acceptance to the older teen's relief, "but not always. So, there are five vicious beasts and four nice ones. That seems unbalanced."

"That's because Gobi, Tiamat, the Five-tailed Dragon Queen, chooses what mood she'll be in depending on her whims." Nibiiro explained, grinning happily while Sasuke blinked at him. Nibiiro gestured for them to continue walking. "Tiamat can be as mild mannered as Moro the Wolf or as sadistic as Seiryuu the Snake."

"That's appropriate" Sasuke murmured. His companion nodded.

"I thought so too, when I first heard of _that_ one."

"So… Naruto holds Kyuubi-"

"Also called Youko"

"Ah, and Gaara holds Ichibi? And you hold Shibi…"

"And my friends Ashanta and Laniana hold Suzaku the Six-tailed Eagle and Tiamat, respectively. I don't know who the other Jinchuuriki are, although I know Lana does, which is why I need to speak to her. All I know is that Jorumund the Eight-tailed Leviathan and Genbu the Three-tailed Tortoise were sealed, while Moro and Seiryuu were MIA last time I spoke with Lana."

"Oh, great." came the cynical response, "The demon most likely to assist Orochimaru out of spite for humanity is out loose somewhere. What else can go wrong?"

"Moro could be sealed into the wrong person or fall into Akastsuki hands." Nibiiro responded. "Then we'd really be sunk, Jorumund is already inaccessibly from what Lana said, and I have the feeling that we need all the help we can get." They had reached the ledge by this point and Nibiiro busied himself in trying to get the Eagles attention. Sasuke collapsed against the cliff face, utterly spent physically. But something was nagging at the back of his mind.

That fight with the fake Kisame had been way too easy, and that rang false. There was something about it that left Sasuke feeling as if he were missing something obvious. Nibiiro was barely injured at all, a couple cuts here, a few bruises there, a shallow gash on the thigh; nothing to mention really.

"It's almost like you were meant to win…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Pardon?" Nibiiro asked as he added more green leaves to the signal fire.

"That fight with the fake Kisame, it's like you were meant to win mostly unscathed so that you could get away." The youth elaborated.

"But what purpose would that serve?" Nibiiro countered. He didn't ask this like he was trying to discourage Sasuke, but instead encourage him to fill in the blanks.

"The attack feels, now that I think about, like an attempt to flush you out, to make you run."

"Well, yeah. But run whe-" Nibiiro broke off, horrified. "To run to the others, to Lana and Ashanta, to lead… to lead Akastsuki to the Jinchuuriki that they haven't located… so they can follow me there…" He stood and pressed his hands together in a jutsu seal.

"No! Wait!" Sasuke cried, alarmed. The best spy was the one you knew about, obviously. So he couldn't let Nibiiro destroy them, or harder-to-detect replacements would be sent.

"Oh, don't get your boxers in a bunch, I'm just locating them. Yeesh!" Nibiiro grumped. Sasuke let out a cough of amusement and sat back to watch his companion and mentor work. It was always beneficial to watch an experienced Nin at work, especially if you had the Sharingan.

"Yep, they're there." The grey-eyed fighter said, "Spy seals, invisible unless you look for 'em- ah!" Azasu and Akura had just arrived, landing on the edge of the cliff with a flurry of wing beats. The wind kicked up by them forced the two humans to shield their eyes.

"You certainly have a lot of nerve!" Akura bellowed in a deep, bass voice, "You dare ask us for a favor after what you pulled yesterday?" Akura's feathers were ruffled, his hackles and crest flared out. He looked rather intimidating. Azasu however, looked more calm and serene, if icy and distant.

"I'm not here to ask a favor, I'm here to beg for help." Nibiiro replied humbly, bowing deeply. Akura seemed slightly mollified, feathers slicking slightly. "Enemies of mine have come to attack me, and while I have defeated one attacker, more will come and I am not strong enough to fight against two or more. I need to run and swiftly before they come. I need your help for that _please!_"

Akura turned his head away, "You should have thought about that before you decided to spy on my lovely mate and my own magnificent self." He said proudly. Nibiiro looked to be at a loss as how to properly respond to that, so Sasuke stepped in.

"The reason Nibiiro-san brought me to look at you is because you, Azasu-san, are so lovely, and you, Akura-san, are so magnificent." he said, laying the flattery on thick. "He knew that viewing you was a pleasure and wished to share it with me. I admit, we should have asked for permission before doing so, but I think that maybe Nibiiro-san was afraid you would refuse." he bowed even more deeply than Nibiiro had, "Please, would you be so gracious as to forgive our impudence?"

Akura was apparently very receptive to flatter, his body feathers relaxed, his hackles and crest feathers flatted while his facial feathers puffed out. It was amazing how expressive a creature with nearly zero facial muscles could be, just because of feather position. But Azasu was not so nearly susceptible.

"What were you before, that you have such a silver tongue?" She asked, peering sharply at Sasuke. He decided not to answer but bowed his head under her scrutiny.

"Please, we need help." He said softly as he watched the Eagles through his lashes. Azasu watched back for a moment, then settled back, puffing up her facial feathers.

"Very well," She sighed, "it seems as if we have no choice. To refuse your plea may well be a death sentence, and while we are annoyed with you two, we do not hate you." Nibiiro let out a huge sigh of relief while Sasuke started to breathe again.

"Thank you, very much." Nibiiro said with effusive thanks. "I don't know how to repay you."

"Neither do I, with you having to run for your life." Akura admitted.

"We will just ask Ashanta to pay us and have you repay her, instead." Azasu explained slyly. Nibiiro groaned.

"Do you know how much _interest _she charges?" He moaned. The Eagles laughed loudly at his dismay.

"Well and good, well and good!" Akura crowed, "Now, to business! I know you, you wretch, know how to fly with us, but I fear that your companion is probably ignorant. So you will demonstrate with-"

"With me," Azasu interrupted in a tone that brooked no argument, "you can take the young one." With that, she spread her wings and launched herself off the cliff face, pumping her wings laboriously to gain height. Seeing that Sasuke was watching intently, Nibiiro lay down at the cliff edge, perpendicular to the mountain face. Then Azasu swooped in and snatched up Nibiiro in her talons.

"Why-?" Sasuke started to ask.

"Why in our claws?" Akura finished, "Simple, you would be bucked off by our wing movements if you tried to ride on our backs. Now, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Sasuke admitted. He lay down in the same place that Nibiiro had lain and Akura took off. A few moments later, powerful talons closed around him with shocking gentleness. The male Eagle swiftly caught up with his mate. The female's head was tilted towards the burden in her claws, then she veered west and the male followed.

* * *

It was a long flight, and all four were very tired by sunset. The Eagles were obviously tired from having flown for hours with extra weight, and being carried belly down in hard, sharp talons was very tiring for the humans. The two Nins were gently dropped on a high hill, then the Eagles flew off to a nearby mountain ledge. Nibiiro stiffly rose and worked the kinks out of his joints and then helped Sasuke to his feet. Not that Sasuke was steady on them, his still recouping strength had been completely taxed. He tightly gripped onto Nibiiro's arm to keep from falling.

"Easy now, there's small cave near here where we can sleep." The older fighter assured.

"Oh." Sasuke remarked, "Good." And collapsed as soon as they got to the very small cave. It was more of an overhanging ledge to be honest. Nibiiro left, and quickly returned with soft branches and fern fronds to make a bed. Sasuke was already asleep.

* * *

The nightmare began as it always did. Sasuke was regretfully familiar with this one. It began with his younger self running home from a late class, only to find his entire family brutally murdered, with his gore-spattered brother standing over them. Sasuke tried to do something, go to his parents, attack his brother, call out, _anything_!

But his body was frozen, he couldn't even speak. His dead parents then rose and begged him to explain why he hadn't saved them. He tried to explain that he hadn't known, he'd been in his class and had no way of knowing that his deeply admired brother would actually _do_ something like this. But he couldn't open his mouth to speak.

More dead phantoms of his clan approached, pressing their death wounds in his face, begging, _demanding _to know why he hadn't helped them. He tried to run, and while his voice was still frozen, his body could move but he was still trapped. The mouth of the door had become the mouth of a giant snake, slowly swallowing him feet first.

And if that wasn't enough, Itachi killed Sasuke's family all over again in front of him, laughing. But the phantoms were still about him, shrieking at him, and the new dead joined the old, doubling the number of dead phantoms plucking at him. The older phantoms were decaying before his eyes, adding another level of horror to the nightmare. Itachi then passed the knife to Orochimaru, and it began again. And again. And again.

It kept going, layer upon layer of dead, bleeding, rotting phantoms begging why he did nothing while his family was being killed again and again before him. He was being swallowed by the creature he hated most and he couldn't even scream. The two people he hated most were slaying the parents he had tried so hard to please and he could do nothing.

Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and screamed himself awake.

But this time it was different. He ran home, his dream-self expecting nothing, as usual. He opened the door to his dead family, as usual. But, this time, before the phantoms could appear and the true horror begin; shadow fell over the scene and made it fade away. Even the cries of the dead were muffled. In their place, a giant, black, Two-tailed Wolf watched him benignly with her great, golden-brown eyes.

The black shadows swirled around them, insulating them away from everything that could hurt. For all the darkness, and the giant predatory creature looming over him, he felt no fear, only safety. And great weariness; after all the interrupted nights of sleep and the draining events of the day, Sasuke was utterly spent, even in his dream. His exhaustion flattened him, his legs folded and he fell to the soft, shadowed floor.

_#Rest little one#_ a female voice echoed softly, _#Rest, I will guard your sleep. No more phantoms of the past shall come to haunt you. I shall watch over you and hold you safe, as you shall hold me. We shall keep each other safe from things that would harm, for as long as we both need this. So rest, and know I watch over you.# _As Sasuke fell into the deep dreamless sleep he had been deprived of for so long, the last thing he thought he saw was the soft golden eyes of the Wolf, watching him with a maternal gaze. Then he knew no more until Nibiiro shook him awake the next morning.

* * *

A.S.:WOOT! I got a chapter up before New Years! Mass WOOTAGE!

Sasuke: oO? I'm not asking... I'm going to pretend she's not there...

A.S.: #evil grin# GLOMPAGE!

Sasuke: Ack! No! Off! Evil Woman!

Nibiiro: #scritch, scritch# You're on your own here kid.

Sasuke: HELP!

A.S.: #drops Sasuke spontaneously# (can you tell it's near midnight after a long shift of hard, physical work?) Oh, yeah. Three guesses as to what's going on with Sasuke at the end of the chapter. But you probably only need one. Ja ne

Sasuke: I hate you.

A.S.: I know, and guess what? I don't care! I am the almighty authoress and you have to do whatever I say!

Sasuke: ... I still hate you.

Nibiiro: And it still doesn't matter. G'Night everybody!


	4. Why Diversions?

A.N.: Couple o' things: 1: I'm trying to keep things believable, so if Sasuke acts too OOC, tell me and I'll try and revise. 2: I'm hoping to be a genuine author sometime in the nebulous future, which means I need to practice and perfect my art and style. So if all y'all can yell at me when I go too fast, go too slow, fail to describe something, etc, etc… It'd be a big help. That is all, domo arigatou. #bows#

Disclaimer: Why do I bother writing these things? Everyone knows I own nothing or else this would be published in the Naruto manga instead of being posted here!

_#Text# _demon speech

""_Full sentence text""_ person to person telepathy

Single_ word, single phrase italics_ emphasis

_Full sentence italics _personal thoughts

* * *

Morning came far too early according to Nibiiro, as usual. But he got up as pre-dawn light streaked the sky with shades of blue and gray, stretched until his back popped and tried to rouse Sasuke. 'Tried' was definitely the key word, rousing the dead probably would have been a more fruitful venture. The kid was so out of it that Nibiiro checked for a pulse to reassure himself that Sasuke was still alive. _I don't think I'll be getting him up anytime soon,_ Nibiiro thought, _might as well make some breakfast._

The thought was parent to the deed. He made a quick survey of the surrounding forest and found many edible plants. A slight application of his powers made it so that he had a sizable feast of tubers, out-of-season berries and other tasty veggies with maybe fifteen minutes work. A little more snooping led him to a crystal clear streamlet with several fine, fat fish. Another mild application of Byakko's borrowed power snagged him two large ones. He headed back triumphantly to cook his spoils, only to find Sasuke-

Still asleep. The older teen frowned down at the boy, then shrugged. _He probably reached the end of his endurance and his body's forcing him to recoup in spite of his nightmares. Cooking smells ought to wake him. I have yet to see a teenage boy who doesn't eat twice his weight in food each day; myself included!_ But Nibiiro had underestimated Sasuke's determination to remain in dreamland.

Nibiiro eyed the slumbering youth sourly as predawn became dawn which further progressed into day, munching on his own fish.

"C'mon Sasuke, time to get up!" He said, poking the youth with his toe. No response.

"C'mon!" Nibiiro rose and shook the boy. Light snores emanated from the form.

"Wakey, wakey!" the just-adult Nin yelled, shaking harder, "Bright the day and all that jazz!" More snores greeted his efforts. Nibiiro huffed through his nose and violently stripped Sasuke of his blankets.

Sasuke curled up into a ball and shielded his face from the sun with his hand in a puppy-like gesture before sighing and settling into deeper sleep.

Nibiiro glowered and growled, grabbed the water bucket and stomped off.

* * *

Sasuke was enjoying the deepest and most peaceful sleep of his life until there was a mild interruption. He was vaguely aware of being jostled, but since there was no threat or pain, he merely slept through it. Finally peace returned; and then…

Sasuke was doused with the _coldest_ water he'd ever encountered this side of freezing. He was so shocked by the cold that he couldn't even shriek, only gasp noiselessly as the water soaked him to the core.

But he could, and did, move, leaping to his feet and scanning the area, trying to locate the source of the attack. He noticed Nibiiro, holding a dripping bucket and looking unbearably smug.

"Good morning," the older teen said sarcastically.

"You! What-? Why-? _Evil!_" Sasuke gasped out.

"When one comes upon a stubborn foe, one uses all resources at one's disposal." Nibiiro stated calmly, still looking disgustingly smug. "We need to get moving soon and you refused to wake up in spite of everything I tried."

Sasuke glared fiercely, clearly not believing what he heard. _Evil, cruel, awful man! He's- He's-!_ Sasuke couldn't think of anything harsh enough to call him. _He's unforgivable!_

"There's food," Nibiiro offered gently. Sasuke looked down at the wide variety of food-stuffs and sat down to begin munching. _Okay, maybe I'll forgive 'im._ Few grudges last past an offer to fill a teenaged-boy's empty stomach.

Nibiiro choked back a laugh as he watched Sasuke attack the food but still shoot indignant glares at his companion. But it was hard, as Sasuke munched on his fish and glowered at Nibiiro he looked like a cat that'd had his tail stepped on and knew he was being pacified with food.

_That or a puppy glaring at a bigger dog over a bone, _he added. "When you're done eating, I need your help with something." Nibiiro requested calmly.

"Should'a thought of that before the ice bath…" Sasuke grumbled into a roasted tuber.

"Pardon?" Nibiiro feigned deafness.

"Nothing." Sasuke said sullenly, then, as his blood sugar rose to an acceptably level: "What do you need me to help with?" Ah, food, the sovereign cure for the early morning sulks.

"It something complicated, and something I'm going to forbid you to use while you still have even the slightest scrap of that curse." Nibiiro said firmly, looking Sasuke straight in the eye. The youth rocked back a little and grabbed the place where the curse seal could still be seen. One of the three marks was missing, proof that Nibiiro had done as he claimed and had neutralized part of it.

"What's this something complicated?"

"It's an illusion _spell_." The older teen said, "I'm going to need some extra strength, so it's probably a good thing you slept in."

"Spell?" Sasuke asked skeptically, "There's no such thing as Magic; only Chakra."

"Yes and no," Nibiiro contradicted, "There is Magic, but not as the sharpsters would like us to believe. What you can do with it is limited, but strong. For example," Nibiiro leaned forward, launching into his teacher mode, "I could light a candle with Chakra or Magic, and the Magic would exhaust me. _But,_" he raised a finger in emphasis, "the candle lit by Magic _would never go out_, even if it were dumped in water. The flame would never burn the candle stick down, it would never burn anything at all, and it would remain until I or a stronger _Mage_ came and put it out with more Magic."

Nibiiro had Sasuke's complete attention now. "O-kay… How does it work?"

"You know that Chakra is a mix of mental and physical energy correct?" Nibiiro asked, Sasuke nodded, "Magic is _spiritual_ energy, which is why it's so dangerous. If used incorrectly, you could kill your soul, leaving your body to linger." Nibiiro scowled suddenly, "Which is what I think Orochimaru does."

"Eh!"

"That curse seal is so tough because it's a mix of Chakra and Magic and it eats away at both as time goes on. Fortunately that's been paused with its partial destruction and your soul will repair itself even as your body and mind does."

Sasuke slumped in relief; Nibiiro's description had made him paranoid for a moment there. "Okay, but if I'm repairing myself, then how does Orochimaru kill the souls of his vessels?"

"I _think,_ but I do not _know_, that the body transplant Jutsu is a kind of accelerated curse seal. That's my guess."

"Fair enough, but if you need my help with Magic, and you just forbid me to use it, then how the heck am I supposed assist you?"

"'Cause I'm also going to use Chakra-base Jutsus and that you can help me with. So finish eating while I get things prepared." Nibiiro moved off to the small amount of stuff that they had managed to take with them in their flight and started to fuss with it. Sasuke blinked at him before attacking the rest of the food eagerly. When he finished, he moved to Nibiiro's side and watched him curiously as the older Nin tore through the few packs in search of something…

"Ah-hah! Here it is!" he cried triumphantly as he finally fished out a plain quartz crystal. Sasuke looked askance of him. "Yeah I know," Nibiiro replied to Sasuke's expression, "it's just a rock, but I've used this several times so it's tuned into my Chakra pattern."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." The youth replied. Nibiiro arched a brow then gestured for Sasuke to sit down across from him.

"I want you to first go into a light trance," the older teen instructed, ignoring Sasuke's skeptical comments, "then comes the tricky part."

The young teen obeyed, centering himself and falling easily into a mild trance state where his body was distant from him but his mind could still respond to verbal instructions.

"Good, now with your mind reach out to me." Slightly puzzled in how to do this, Sasuke still tried to obey. And tried, then tried some more.

"_RELAX! _You don't have to fight so hard!" Nibiiro commanded in exasperation after the fifth attempt. Sasuke's own exasperation had thrown him out of trance so with a sigh he reentered the state and just let himself center for a moment. When he felt calm again he reached, slowly towards Nibiiro with his mind. He felt something grab his extended 'hand'.

""_Good, you got it.""_ A voice that didn't _sound_ so much as _feel_ like Nibiiro said into Sasuke's mind.

""_Nibiiro?""_ The youth thought hard at the feel.

""_Not so loud! I can hear you just fine.""_

""_Oh, um sorry?""_

""_No problem, I understand.""_ Nibiiro Said kindly, _""Now comes the even trickier part; you have to convince your subconscious that it is indeed okay for you to let your Chakra flow into me. Now, relax some more and visualize a stream made of your power flow into me. This will probably take a while for you to get right so don't fret about it.""_

Sasuke heaved a purely mental sigh, to Nibiiro's amusement, and tried to do as he was asked. Still holding on to his connection with Nibiiro, the teen focused in on himself and tried to visualize his Chakra as a lake of blue power with a stream that he could direct out to someone else. Fumbling a bit, he tried to direct it to the greenish-gold mass that was Nibiiro and thought that he made connection. Only… it didn't Feel right, instead of Feeling green-gold, this Felt pure white. He reached towards it to try and figure out what this white mass was when it came into sharp focus in his mind's eye.

Sasuke suddenly found his Self in some kind of hall and standing before him was a _huge_ White Tiger staring down at him benignly. Around It's, _His_ paws were shackles with chains that led back behind Him into the unlit hall. As Sasuke stared gaping at Him, the Tiger _winked _at him. That was a bit too much for Sasuke to handle and he fell completely out of trance.

Sasuke came to lying on his back, gasping, with Nibiiro leaning over him.

"Sasuke! Sasuke are you alright? Talk to me!" the older Nin yelled, shaking his younger friend.

"What- was- that!" the dark-eyed youth gasped. Nibiiro slumped in relief, briefly leaning his forehead against Sasuke's chest.

"I did _not_ think you'd be able to do that…" Nibiiro mumbled, "Gods that scared me."

"Do what?" Sasuke asked, sitting up and gently pushing Nibiiro back. He was still too dazed to take offense at his personal space being invaded. "What the hell _was _that… thing?"

Nibiiro looked up and straightened slightly, "that _Thing, _was Byakko, the Tiger demon inside me. You somehow managed to bumble your way into the place where He's Bound." Nibiiro's eyes unfocused for a moment, "By the way, He says hi and to tell you that He's sorry He scared you."

"Oh, that's nice," Sasuke said faintly, "Um, maybe I should say sorry for barging in uninvited?"

Nibiiro's eye's unfocused again, "He says there's no need to apologize, since He's convinced it's somehow all _my _fault, but He accepts your apology anyway. He also says that He likes you, so if you do manage to get there again, you don't need to be scared, since He won't do anything to hurt you and there's no way you could possibly hurt Him."

"Ah, okay." Sasuke swallowed nervously, "Do you think we should try again?"

"Yes I do, you almost had it, you just need to not be so enthusiastic." Nibiiro said with a lop-sided grin that didn't quite disguise his own nervousness. Sasuke nodded and pulled his legs underneath him so that he was sitting cross-legged again. Nibiiro backed up a bit so that there was less than a foot of space between their knees and assumed the same position as Sasuke. With a nod from his mentor, Sasuke dropped into trance again.

This time was different. Maybe it was because he now knew he could See things like this, but this time he Saw Nibiiro. There was a human shaped form of green-gold energy where Nibiiro sat with a spot just beneath his chest of white energy so tightly focused that Sasuke thought that it should be painful to Look at. But somehow it wasn't.

The youth refocused on the task at hand and concentrated on his own Chakra again and, gently, carefully reached out to Nibiiro. The white energy moved before the green-gold could.

_#Gently, young one,# _a powerful foreign voice Said, _#I shall not harm you for the world, I merely am trying to lend my aid.#_

_#oh…#_ Sasuke responded weakly. The white energy that _had _to be Byakko carefully guided Sasuke in how to let his Chakra flow into Nibiiro. When Nibiiro realized what Byakko was doing, he Said some interesting words. Sasuke wanted his note pad.

The Tiger merely laughed and kept on assisting the flow. But it was at that point that Sasuke fully understood Nibiiro's earlier comment of working against his subconscious. He could clearly Feel the energy draining out of him and it was disturbing, like a freely bleeding wound only without pain. It Felt wrong, and he wanted to cut the flow, but his conscious mind kept insisting that this was okay. His subconscious responded with a 'you suicidal maniac' type comment.

When Sasuke started to feel really weak and a little dizzy, Nibiiro, with Byakko's help, stopped the flow from their end.

""_That's more than enough, thank you Sasuke."" _Nibiiro Said, _""You get some rest; I'll take care of it from here.""_

""_Alright…"" _the youth Said, his mind-voice tinged heavily with exhaustion.

""_I wouldn't be able to do what needs to be done without this; you've been an enormous help.""_ Nibiiro stated firmly. If Sasuke hadn't been focused entirely inside his Self, he would have blushed at the praise. Instead, he drew himself back out into his body. And then hastily caught himself from flopping back and passing out. _Ah, I think I'll just lie down for moment, so I don't fall down.

* * *

_

_#Thank you, Byakko-kun# _A female voice Said softly while Nibiiro was focused on weaving his Jutsu and Sasuke was focused on staying awake.

_#No problem at all, Moro-san.# _Byakko replied, _#Although, I am somewhat curious as to why you wish to remain hidden?#_

_#That is easily explained.# _The Two-Tailed, Wolf demon Moro, also called Nibi Said, _#The fewer people who are aware of my existence here, the fewer people there are to let it slip.#_

_#Even your host?#_

_#Even my host, he is young, he may say the wrong thing at the wrong time. I do not wish this to happen.#_

_#But are you not limited this way?#_

_#There is still much I can teach him and do for him, but yes, I am more limited. Still, I feel that this is safer.#_

_#Well, if that is what you wish…#_

_# This is what I wish.#_

_#Then there is nothing I may say. Good luck.#_

_#My thanks.#

* * *

_

Nibiiro was completely oblivious to the silent exchange, but not to Sasuke's exhaustion. He focused his mind out a touch, just enough to see that while the youth was indeed very tired, more accurately_ drained_, he was otherwise fine and already recovering. _Much more quickly than I would have thought. Huh, looks like his stamina is finally kicking in, about time. I was beginning to get worried that he'd never fully recover from what Orochimaru did to him._

_#A valid concern.# _Byakko muttered.

_#Oh? Did you See something I didn't?#_

_#Yes and at the same time no. I Saw that curse had inflicted damage deeper than you had originally thought, but that is now fully healed.#_

_#Your work perhaps?# _Aside from, or maybe because of, the plant power, Byakko could also Heal. He and his host couldn't Heal anything complicated, but if there was damage, they could Heal even where others couldn't. A soul-deep wound that other Healers would declare impossible, the Jinchuuriki could fix. Some poisons, however, were beyond their skill. Still, Nibiiro wasn't about to quibble over it.

_#Some of the healing was indeed my work, yes.# _the Tiger responded.

_#You've been doing an awful lot of favors for Sasuke.# _Nibiiro commented suspiciously.

_#I _like_ him.# _the Tiger repeated.

_#Huh, the kid is likable, but still, is he really that likable? He can be more than a bit of a brat.#_

_#He has potential.#_

_#And you still won't tell me in what, will you?#_ Nibiiro asked wearily. The Tiger merely chuckled and receded back into his place in Nibiiro's Self, leaving the Jinchuuriki to craft his Jutsu. Nibiiro gave a mental shrug and focused all his attention to the task at hand. The Jutsu he was making was not going to be an easy one.

The physical components were two quartz crystals, one being the focus, the other the trigger. The trigger was his favorite crystal, he wasn't letting go of it that easily. The focus was just some random crystal he found while gathering food earlier. In it was the bulk of the Jutsu, one that would negate all Chakra based activities within a four-mile radius. Nibiiro would trigger this with his other crystal, sending his Chakra through it to another stone like it. Since the only other stone within range that was going to be quartz with his Chakra in it, that part was simple.

_That will knock out any spy seals that are floating around. But to make sure that they don't immediately send more seals at us, I have to use misdirection._ That's where the Magic came in, four spells to be exact, pushing Nibiiro's limit. _Which is why I needed Sasuke's strength. The spell itself doesn't use Chakra-type strength, but crafting it does. If I have more strength to make the spells, I won't waste as much Magic. I hope. Ah, man! I am so going to be Unhappy when I'm done!_

He finished crafting the Jutsu while the sun climbed higher. It was surprising how much time this part took, especially when compared to the whole ten minutes it took for Sasuke to figure out how to transfer energy and then complete the transfer. Finally, one hour after he started, Nibiiro finished making his Jutsu and storing it into his crystals.

He stood and stretched and then went over to shake Sasuke awake. Inwardly he was dreading another ordeal over waking the youth up, but for some bizarre reason he woke easily this time.

"You want to watch and see how Magic is used?"

* * *

The working of Magic was a lot easier than Sasuke would have believed; it was just like using Chakra, but using a different source. That's what scared the piss out of him.

The young teen used Sharingan to watch, and apparently his earlier trance state had given him an insight on how to look at things differently. Sasuke was able to see Nibiiro's and Byakko's aura as the former crafted his spell. And for Nibiiro to craft his spells, four of them, he had to basically spin out a part of his essence. He was putting a chunk of himself, not his power, not his thought, _his self_, into the spell.

The thought was terrifying; _I'm not going to have a problem following Nibiiro's orders in not using Magic while I'm still cursed. In fact, I don't believe I'll use Magic, ever._

But still, frightening as the sight was, it was still fascinating to watch. The spells that Nibiiro made were illusion spells, but far more powerful and complex than anything that Sasuke thought was even possible. The first two illusions not only looked like Nibiiro and Sasuke, but smelled, sounded, and even _felt_ like the two of them. Right down to the proper level of Chakra that the two currently had. But that wasn't all, oh no.

When the two Eagles joined them, Nibiiro explained that for the next seventy-two hours, these illusions would go through all the motions of the real deals, even in making illusionary camps at night. Hopefully Akastsuki would be fooled

And that was where the other two illusions came in. These two illusions would be placed over Nibiiro and Sasuke themselves, and erase their presence from all senses. Nibiiro included a little addition that would allow the two to see and hear each other, but all others would not know that the two existed there.

And as for the why of all this? The first step was for the Eagles to carry the two fugitives to the shore of a gigantic lake, a needed rest-stop because _Nibiiro_ was about a pace or two from passing out and Sasuke wasn't too far behind him. At this stop, the older teen would activate the four illusion spell, switching spy focus from the real forms to the fake.

The Eagles would then carry the shirt and the pair of pants that held the illusion for Sasuke and Nibiiro respectively out into the middle of the lake. When they reached that point, Nibiiro would trigger the Jutsu that he sealed into the quartz crystal that he had sewn into the pants pocket. This would knock out any Chakra-based spell or jutsu within the four-mile radius that was its limit.

The illusions would still hold, they were Magic-based, not Chakra-based. When the Eagles reached the shoreline, Akastsuki would be watching for them and their passengers. And see the illusions, but not the real things. The real things would be on the opposite side of the lake, resting for a day before swiftly heading off. They would be undetectable for another two days, while the other illusions would be clearly detectable for the same period of time. By the time the illusions faded, for Magic of this level could only be sustained for so long, Nibiiro and Sasuke would be far from any area that Akastsuki thought that they were in.

Ingenious, if difficult. Sasuke could see why Nibiiro was fussing over every last detail; this kind of thing was not something that could be done multiple times over in a short period of time. To do so would be to court soul-death, which was worse, far worse, than real death.

The teen ideally turned the rabbit-on-a-stick over the fire and fretted. The Eagles had already taken off, with many thanks, and Nibiiro had triggered his Jutsu. After that, he had promptly passed flat out, completely and utterly drained. Sasuke figured that his guardian and mentor would be hungry so he'd gone hunting. Sort of.

_My strength wasn't exactly in top shape _before_ Nibiiro took as much as he safely could. Good thing rabbits are stupid and fall for half-hidden snares._ Rabbit was a safe food, easily recognizable as edible, prepared and cooked.

Sasuke poked the blackened greasy mass that was smoking over the small fire he'd made. _At least, it _was_ recognizable as food._ The snare had been properly constructed and hidden to the best of Sasuke's current ability; the fire had been made expertly, the rabbit field dressed as if by a pro. The cooking however… _So I've got an ability gap, doesn't everyone?_ He thought, trying to console himself.

Nibiiro stirred and groaned. Sasuke perked up and watched him, hoping that he'd wake up this time. _And hopefully cook for me._ His silent prayers were answered as Nibiiro levered himself up into a sitting position, blinking blearily.

"You're awake."

"Technically. What time is it?" the older teen said in a very groggy tone.

"Late evening, early night." Sasuke responded, "Take your pick." He took one of the blackened bunnies and handed it to Nibiiro. "Charred rabbit-on-a-stick?"

Nibiiro took the stick with the thing attached to it and almost automatically took a bite. Inner instinct must have warned him to look at it first, which he did, examining it minutely.

"Uhm…." He said. Sasuke didn't respond, he just continued to poke the other rabbit with a stick, he _really_ didn't want to try and choke it down. Nibiiro tentatively nibbled at his, or started to at least. Once the taste hit his tongue….

"Sasuke."

"Yes?"

"You don't know how to cook do you?"

"In theory yes. In practice…" He and his mentor exchanged irony laden glances.

"No." "Nope." Nibiiro sighed heavily.

"Well, you've proven that you can catch food. Go get another couple conies, I'll roast them this time."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Sasuke said with a smile while he heavily rose to do as he'd been asked.

* * *

A.S.: Quick comment on Nibiiro's age, which I'm sure that some of you have been wondering-

Sasuke: Or not.

A.S.: #ignoring the interruption# He's eighteen, four years older then Sasuke. I'm assuming that the time period between the graduation and formation of cell seven and the time period that Sasuke left was roughly a year, which would have made Sasuke thirteen when he joined Orochimaru. And as I stated in the first chapter, a year passed before the idiot-

Sasuke: #evil glare# Grrr…

A.S.: ahem, the moron-

Sasuke: Grrrr!

A.S.: Oh, alright, the _teenage boy! _(worst insult that A.S. can think of to bash intellect, if only Sasuke knew it)

Sasuke: Humph,

A.S.: -was rescued. Therefore making him fourteen in the current timeline. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'm working on my style because I want to be an honest-to-gods, published author some day and I shouldn't have anything puzzling in my writing unless it's plot–related. So help me out and tear me apart, please. Okay, that's all for now, see you next chapter! Ja ne


	5. Why Caution?

Chap 5

5-1-06

Disclaimer: Because the universe hates me, I don't own Naruto. I do own Nibiiro and Akari however. Who's Akari? #snicker# you'll have to find out!

A.S.: ….. From here on, things get crazy…. Er. Oh, and I didn't forget about Anko and her curse seal, nope, no way, not sayin' you can't make me-

Sasuke: You can see she likes to lie.

A.S.: Ah-heh…. Right… At least I made up for it here!

Sasuke: With your typical pathetic ability, yes I suppose you did.

A.S.: rrrrrr, you do realize that the chapter hasn't even started yet and I'm the one that controls the plot, right?

Sasuke: (sweatdrop) #ulp#

A.S.: heheheheheheehheh

* * *

"So… Where are we going again?" Sasuke asked meekly. Nibiiro had told him- twice- already. But… that was before the younger teen had eaten anything. He couldn't be held accountable for his faulty memory; he had lacked the necessary blood sugar to make anything stick. Or so he kept telling himself. Nibiiro glanced up at the dark-eyed youth from where he was disguising the last traces of the campfire.

"We're going to a town called Houshoukin Kariudo Hekison." He explained slowly, as if to a five year old. Sasuke scowled, but said nothing about the insulting tone. "It's a good place to find a job that two fugitive shinobi can do without being hunted. We need to get a job so that we can get the necessary money to buy more supplies." He grinned ruefully, "I seem to have neglected to bring any with me."

"Neglected, right," the younger teen drawled as he finished visually sweeping the small clearing for any evidence that it had held two people for the night. He was about to report to the older teen that it was all clear when a sudden sharp pain shocked him into falling to his knees, hissing. Sasuke didn't even have to think about reaching up to grab at the Curse Seal in a futile effort to dull the pain, it was pure reflex by now.

"Sasuke?" Nibiiro called in concern, rushing over to the youth's side, "Shit, is the Curse Seal acting up again?"

"Yeah…" the dark-eyed teen grated out, "Can't you do something about it? After all, you made it didn't you?" He was caught by surprise when his grey-eyed mentor suddenly gained a sheepish expression.

"Well… erm… actually…."

#_I made it.#_ A powerful, silent voice that Sasuke was coming to know only too well said in the two teen's heads. Had Sasuke been a fur-bearing mammal instead of a furless human, every hair would be standing on end.

"Wha-wha-what do you mean B-B-Byakko-sama?" Sasuke stammered. Ever since he had accidentally brushed against the Tiger's cell inside Nibiiro, the young shinobi had been able to hear the Bijuu. And each time the Tiger spoke, Sasuke freaked, naturally. After all, when one has been alone inside one's head, it's completely understandable for that one to be mildly disturbed when one is hearing voices.

"What he means is that I actually didn't _make_ the original curse seal." Nibiiro said, preventing the need for Byakko to speak again. "My predecessor made it."

"Your predecessor?" Sasuke asked, then groaned in pain as he folded over. The Curse Seal was really starting to _hurt_. Nibiiro placed one hand over the Curse mark, the other hand forming a seal. The pain subsided enough for Sasuke to think beyond it. "What do you mean? Why did you lie?"

Nibiiro sighed, "I didn't lie, not really, it's just-" The grey-eye Nin fell silent and glanced upward, clearly searching for the words to explain the situation. "The one who held Byakko before me created the original Curse Seal, and had a similar relationship with the Tiger as I have. Because of this, Byakko knows, intimately, _everything_ my predecessor knew. Therefore, _I_ know, intimately, everything my predecessor knew."

The older shinobi sighed again at the younger one's puzzled expression. "It- it's hard to explain. When I dream, Byakko is there, and sometimes guides the dreams. It's not terribly uncommon for him to send me on dream quests, showing me things that his previous hosts have been through." He grinned falsely, "Sometimes I get confused over what it is that _I _did, and what the others did. That's why I said that I made the Seal; I got confused. I did alter it though; the current version of the Heaven that's on you is the one I engineered."

_That's right, I heard that that freak-woman, Anko, had a curse seal, and had had it for a while. Nibiiro would have to have been… five-ish to have made her seal. I don't care how smart he is, no _Five year old_ could make such a complex seal._

"Well, whoever made it, you know a lot about it and-" Terrible pain welled up again, cutting off anything that Sasuke would have said as his world was narrowed down to the agony shooting out from his neck and the need to draw in the next breath around it. Dimly he sensed movement from his mentor's direction and a moment later, all the pain he had suffered before that point resembled a mild ache in comparison.

He was pretty sure he screamed, but he couldn't be positive about that. His world was pain and pain was his world. _#Hold on, just hold on.# _The Tiger's voice said, giving something for Sasuke to center on. _#The cub is working as fast as he safely can, just hold on.#_

_#It hurts…#_ Sasuke managed to reply, making the understatement of the millennia, _#It really, really hurts!#_

_#I know, just hold out a little longer.#_ And as suddenly as it began, the pain ended, permitting Sasuke to crumple to the clearing floor and curl into a fetal position, trying not to whimper as small waves of phantom pain chased down his limbs. Nibiiro sat hunched over him, panting. There was something… ugly… clenched in his right fist.

"Wha… what…?" the charcoal-grey eyed, young teen croaked, eyeing the ugly thing hesitantly. Nibiiro raised exhausted, blood-shot, _blue_ eyes to meet his student's.

"_This_," he raised his fist a little to show the black mass of evil he clutched, "is one third of the warped thing that was in you." Sasuke recoiled from it while the older shinobi rose uneasily to his feet and started to remake the fire, casting the evil into the cleansing flame. Sasuke shuddered as he watched the natural red-orange fire turn dark, unnatural colors.

_But…evil isn't necessarily black or dark, _he mused, thoughts disjointed from sudden fatigue. He had had a strange dream again last night, about the Wolf that kept the nightmares away. She had spoken of symbolism and that fact that Black, Night and Creatures of the Night were not in themselves evil and that White, Day and Creatures of the Day were not necessarily good. She had said that humans craved symbols and that since humans were diurnal, daytime creatures, everything that had to do with night had been dubbed evil because it was misunderstood.

Sasuke didn't really understand why his subconscious was stressing this point, since the Wolf was _clearly_ a product of his over-stress subconscious mind. Perhaps it was because the Wolf herself was black and that wolves in general were considered night creatures. The dark eyed teen's thoughts drifted further into formlessness as sleep overcame him; his last waking thought one of puzzlement. Why was Nibiiro draping his coat over him? It was still a morning chill in the air, didn't his mentor want the coat? So strange…

* * *

_#You nearly over-did it, again.#_ Byakko scolded, his host ignoring him for a moment to watch the teen drift off into sleep. _#You can not afford to use such high level Spells so close together!#_

_#I know, but I also can't afford to have my partner be prone to crippling bouts of pain.# _Nibiiro countered, _#We're going to be hitting the main trade route later today and there will undoubtedly be trouble of one kind or another. I'm going to have enough trouble looking after myself; Sasuke has to be able to watch his own back, not rely on me to do so.#_

_#Rrrrrr, true,#_ The Tiger admitted reluctantly, _#Are you certain you do not wish to stay a while in Kariudo? The people there know you, and no one can attack you in such a place.#_

_#You're being generous,#_ Nibiiro observed, _#I thought that that place hurt you, due to the nature of the soil.#_

_#It does, but not enough that you can not recoup there. I can bear discomfort in exchange for your full recovery.#_

_#You shame me, I'm already nearly fully recovered.#_ Two days had already passed since he had cast the Disruptor Jutsu and the Illusion Spells. Two days was more than enough time to recover in for a Jinchuuriki.

_#You _were_ fully recovered, barely, but with no reserves.# _Byakko remarked dryly, _#You are drained again, and your reserves are still bare. Do not be so proud in your skills that you take no note of your weaknesses.#_

_#Yes Shishou,# _Nibiiro replied, half in jest. Most of the knowledge that the young adult had was because of Byakko. Nibiiro made his own conclusions based on his own thoughts, but the facts were nearly all given to him by his guest. This had the effect of making him seem very knowledgeable and wise beyond his years, something Sasuke often groused about. Nibiiro didn't mind, so long as Sasuke thought about what he was told.

_Although not thinking isn't his problem, in fact I think he thinks too much. Often about things that are beyond his control._ Nibiiro was becoming a little peeved with Sasuke's obsession with revenge and his need to get stronger. As far as the young adult was concerned, revenge was perhaps the dumbest thing in the world. All it did was bring more pain.

Yes, killing Itachi had a purpose; the guy was a bastard who deserved to die for the sake of other Jinchuuriki. But, making that the be-all end-all of your life? Where was the fun in that? He was fourteen for Gods sake, he could afford to live a little.

That was one of the things Nibiiro had garnered from mulling over Byakko's knowledge. Life was a short, frail thing; why dwell on bad things when you could try and have fun, or better yet, help people. Why get all dark and angsty from past bad events when you could try and make yourself into a person you wouldn't mind meeting?

At least that was how he felt. Now, to try and get some of that attitude to rub off on the Angst-King of the Universe….

_#Good luck in that endeavor!#_

_#Hey! I don't recall asking for your opinion! And quit eavesdropping, you over-grown house cat!#

* * *

_

A few hours later found the two shinobi traveling down a dirt road that clearly headed into a city. Sasuke was groggy, and Nibiiro was wary, but more than that, the younger of the two was getting peeved over something that he hadn't thought to question earlier.

"What's this 'we' thing?" He asked out of the blue. And after a long bout of prolonged silence no less. It wasn't surprising, then, that Nibiiro hadn't the foggiest clue what the hell his companion was talking about.

"Meh?"

"Earlier, you said _we_ could get a job." Sasuke elaborated, "What's this 'we' thing? I don't recall ever saying I'd team up with you. I just indicated I'd _travel_ with you." Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Angsty King of Anti-Social is back in action and better than ever. Yet Nibiiro just grinned. Evilly.

"Well, you did decide to travel with me, as you said."

"Yeah…" Sasuke replied, suddenly wary.

"Further, you've been accepting, and even asking for my aid, yes?"

"Uh-huh…."

"And you have acknowledged me as the more skilled of the two of us, correct?"

"Ye-es…"

"_And_ you've been heeding and accepting my teaching and instruction have you not?"

"Ummm…."

"So wouldn't that technically make you my apprentice?"

"Ergk!"

Nibiiro's evil grin widened considerably as Sasuke found himself backed into the proverbial corner. "And what does an apprentice do for his master?"

"Aside from work his butt off and do trivial chores?" the charcoal-eyed youth growled and slouched, determined to enter a major brooding, not _pouting, **brooding**,_ session. Nibiiro interrupted, as is per usual, but with a twist this time.

He slowed until he was right next to the, uh, _brooding,_ younger teen. "There are some rules that I must _demand _that you follow when we get to Kariudo. Listen closely; there are some damned good reasons for these rules."

Sasuke blinked up at his new sensei, surprised at the sudden mood-change.

"First, don't call me Nibiiro, that's an alias and the other one I use here is Ryoushi."

"'Hunter'? Isn't that a little..?"

"Yeah, I know. But I employ myself as a bounty hunter and it doesn't hurt to advertise that fact with my name. Second, do not _ever_ make any reference, direct or oblique, to Byakko or to the fact that I'm Jinchuuriki. _EVER!_ Do you understand?"

"H-hai." Sasuke confirmed, shocked now by the vehemence. "Why?"

"Jinchuuriki are nearly always created to be weapons of war." The demon host replied bitterly, clearly remembering something harsh. "Because of that, they are hated even above Blood Limit Lines. That brings me to three; do not, under any circumstances, use Sharingan! That is an order!"

"_What_?" Sasuke was shocked beyond words. Not use the thing that made him strong and gave him a definite edge? Not use his pride and joy that made him special and sought after? Was this man insane?

"I am dead serious here." Nibiiro replied, pausing and turning to look Sasuke dead in the eye. "There are only two full-blooded Uchiha left and they are both Missing-Nin. Use Sharingan and everyone will know who you are and will start hunting you. Konoha is an excellent client and the reward that is undoubtedly out for you will be substantial. And let's not forget about Sound." Sasuke flinched, "But even if they don't recognize the Uchiha trait, you'll be pegged as a Bloodline and that is hated."

"But-" Sasuke asked, currently not caring if he sounded childish, "why?" He couldn't understand, the offspring of Bloodlines were respected and honored back in Konoha. If you were Bloodline, you were guaranteed reverence. This… what Nibiiro was saying… it didn't make sense…

"Because of two things: one, Bloodlines are used as weapons just as readily as Jinchuuriki and thus are feared greatly. Two, if a Bloodline isn't a deadly weapon; it's a noble house, which is just as bad among commoners. The older and more powerful the house, the darker and uglier its secrets." Sasuke glared skeptically at the last, "Oh yes, even Uchiha."

"What about Uchiha?" An angry, adult female voice asked from behind the two males.

"Ah! Akari-chan!" Nibiiro said while he whirled to face her, oh so discreetly standing between the woman and Sasuke. She was a head shorter than the super-tall Nibiiro, with deep black long hair tied back in a no-nonsense braid. Her face was handsome with strong features and her eyes were a deep brown. Dressed with a mind to practicality, and with two short swords strapped to her waist with scabbards showing clear signs of wear, she was obviously a warrior. But that's not what caught Sasuke's undivided attention.

There was one, and only one, trait that all Advanced Blood Limit lines had in common; if you were in close proximity of close kin, you knew it. You knew the person was kin, and even who that person was in relation to you. The nearer the kin was in relation and physical proximity, the more accurate the reading. Every ounce of Sasuke's being was screaming the fact that he was in close proximity to his aunt.

And that was impossible; all Uchiha had black or dark charcoal-grey eyes. And all Uchiha were dead, save himself and his evil, will-die-by-my-hand brother. But the adults were still talking.

"Don't you 'chan' me! You are never nice to me unless you want something. What is it?" Akari snarled.

"Aw, c'mon, I'm always nice to you, aren't I?" Nibiiro gushed, "And I haven't seen you in years! Can't we set aside the bickering and be friendly, just to set off the Apocalypse?"

"No." She dead-panned, "I don't do 'nice'." She narrowed her eyes, "And what was it you were just saying about the Uchiha clan?" She hissed the name like it was the worst epithet, making Sasuke twitch with suppressed auto-defense response. He trusted Nibiiro enough by now to guess that if the larger man was shielding the younger from view, there was a reason. He decided to stay quiet to try and find out what it was.

"Hmmm? Oh I was just explaining to my apprentice the realities of the world. No big deal." He blew off the question.

"Oh, using that scum-ridden cesspit of a clan as an example? Good idea." She shifted her position slightly, the grey-eyed shinobi shifting with her, and Sasuke seething with the need to kill to defend his clan name. "But since when did you take apprentices? I thought you were the true, blue loner type."

"Seeing yourself in others again, are we? But, c'mon, you know that not everyone in that clan is bad, admit it!"

"Yeah, one of them had the decency to wipe out the rest of the shit-eaters." The evil woman sniggered. Too much was too much; Sasuke lunged; only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder as Nibiiro kept him from killing.

The youth glared hatefully up at the middle aged woman, jaw set in snarl of rage. The woman glared right back.

"Hello nephew." She drawled.

"Hi." Sasuke growled back, slowly starting to regret his hasty action. He hadn't spent over a year in close company with Sakura without learning that an irate female was the deadliest and most terrifying creature on Earth. And the woman was a strong and seasoned fighter, even more dangerous. "Why do you hate Uchiha?" He asked as Nibiiro let go of his shoulder and started shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"First you answer me this:" She responded. "Who was your grandfather?"

Sasuke blinked; _why is this important?_ "Well, uh, on my father's side my grandfather was Uchiha Sousuke, I was named for him," (author taking creative license, pay no mind) he grimaced, bad enough that he'd been the neglected spare to his brother's heir, but his parents hadn't even bothered to give him a more individual name.

"I see." The woman Akari replied mildly, drawing one of her swords. "_DIE! _Die you mother-fucking demon spawned- Get out of my way you damned cat!"

"No!" Nibiiro yelled, grappling her sword arm and pinning her free arm to her side, "It's not his fault! You can't kill him!"

"He's the descendant of the freak that dared sire me! He has to die! All spawn of that mother-fucking, pedophilic creep has to die!" She shrieked, trying to slice down into Nibiiro's arm with her sword.

Sasuke in the mean time was prudently hiding up a nearby tree, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and where precisely he had erred.

* * *

"So, my evil grandfather sired you when he was in his sixties? Ew…" Sasuke remarked, lowering the onigiri he'd been about to bite into. The three had decided to stop for a snack while Akari explained herself to a mildly traumatized Sasuke.

The shinobi were reclining in the shade of a large tree at the side of the road, Nibiiro passively sitting between the Amazon and the youth. The Jinchuuriki didn't look up from his lunch, but grimaced in equal disgust. He knew a little of Akari's background, but some of this information was new even to him. Akari scowled and continued her story.

"Yeah, he was, and not only that, Kaa-san was nineteen at the time." She growled. Nibiiro set his onigiri rice ball down as well to stare in horror at his former partner. Sasuke blinked at her, as if he couldn't process this little facet.

"And it gets better," She chirped evilly, "When the old bastard found out that Kaa-san was pregnant, he had her kicked out of Konoha so that he could save face, and the rest of the clan that knew about it helped him!"

"But-!" Sasuke protested, then decided to rephrase he protest so that he was less likely to be sliced in half, "Forgive me, but if you weren't born yet, how could you know this for certain? Given the genuinely terrible situation, your Okaa-sama was unlikely to be charitable."

Akari growled hatefully.

"Akari-chan, admit it, he has a point." Nibiiro said warningly, biting into his onigiri. The Amazon humphed, but let it slide, for now.

"I figured Kaa-san wouldn't be nice to the Uchiha's either, so I went to Konoha myself when I was ten, thinking I could claim some training from them." She elaborated, glaring at some invisible point over Sasuke's head with twisted expression of virulent hate. "Heh, some welcome _I_ got. I nearly got killed for 'putting on airs' and 'making specious claims on something I had no right to'. So, no, Kaa-san wasn't exaggerating, she was telling the whole truth."

Sasuke stared down at the rice in his hands as if he had never seen such a thing before in his life. It was hard, terribly hard, for him to set aside the soft-edged childish image of his clan, even in the face of what his head was telling him was the truth.

Nibiiro had warned him just before Akari had appeared the Blood Limit clans sometimes had dark secrets. It seemed only too convenient that Akari should appear to enforce that warning. Yet he couldn't set it, and her, aside even though his emotional side was screaming that everything that had been said was a lie.

It wasn't a lie, and his head knew it. She _was_ his _aunt;_ that was pure fact. Yet he had never heard of her before, and he had known his third and even fourth cousins very well. Which created another point in her favor; if she had been acknowledged Uchiha, he would have known _of_ her at the very least.

"I believe you." He admitted softly, "There is no reason now for you to lie about this, I believe that you are telling the truth as you know of it."

"Humph." She said, picking up her swords to belt back on, "I'm off."

"Where to?" Nibiiro asked neutrally.

"Kariudo. Need a bounty."

"Ah, same here." Nibiiro grinned at her flinch, "Care to travel with us to the city at least?"

"Humph," She said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for the two males. Nibiiro grinned and stuffed the rest of the rice ball in his mouth hastily. Sasuke made a face at this and forced himself to finish his just as hastily, but with more manners. He wanted to make something of good impression for his aunt.

It was a failed effort though; try as he might to make the least bond with her, she shot him down with harsh insults and a cold attitude. He let it slide however, this _was_ his aunt after all, she was of his blood, of his clan. Even though he'd known her for a whole, oh, three hours, he'd do whatever it took to gain her acknowledgement. What_ever_ it took.

* * *

The nearer the small group got to Kariudo, the more the elements caused them pain. _Ah, yes. _Now_ I remember why I hated this place;_ Nibiiro thought as his legs started to throb slightly. He sighed and bore it, there was nothing he could do about the pain, and the trade-off was usually worth it. Besides, only he was going to be in any great pain; for Sasuke and Akari, it was probably just going to be a light ache.

"What is this?" Sasuke said, pain lacing his tone. "Why does it hurt?" Nibiiro turned to look closely at his apprentice. There was an ache-crease between Sasuke's brows and the cast of his features declared that he was hurting, not badly, but hurting none the less. _He must have more power than I initially thought._

"Figure it out yourself, fool." Akari barked, stomping on. Sasuke looked at her sadly, while Nibiiro glared at her. Her body language declared that she was uncomfortable, but not in any considerable pain. But then again, she'd built up a resistance to the effect, since she came to this place often.

"Take off your glove and touch the ground." Nibiiro instructed. Sasuke complied, briefly brushing the ground with his fingers before jerking his hand back with a hiss. "It's Cold Iron."

"The Death Metal?" Sasuke was clearly surprised.

"No, the Life Metal." Guess who that was. Nibiiro bared his teeth at her and she subsided reluctantly.

"They mine the ore in the mountains over there and the sand in the surrounding area is heavy with the metal. It makes it painful for shinobi like us to be here, since it reacts with our high chakra levels, but it also makes it one of the most neutral places in the world." Nibiiro explained. The three continued towards the city proper.

"How's that?" Sasuke asked, openly curious. Akari opened her mouth to snipe at the youth, then snapped it shut as she caught the Jinchuuriki's angry glare.

"It's because you can't use chakra here, and the villagers are primarily miners, so they're tough." The older teen noticed Sasuke's head-cock, "The villagers insist that peace be kept, and they enforce that strictly. Since a shinobi's strength is based mainly in jutsus, which we can't use here, a fight with them is usually lost."

"I see." Sasuke said. Nibiiro nodded and continued.

"That's why the main bounty hunter office is there. Most bounty hunters don't like each other, the whole rivalry thing is strong among our kind. So in a place like this, where fights are controlled by the locals, the offices see more traffic since hunters know that if their worst enemies walks by, they'd better smile and keep walking, or else."

"Huh."

"Which means, my dear young apprentice-" Sasuke glared, "that if you encounter Itachi, you had better just keep walking and pay him no mind or else the villagers will mind for you. Do you understand?"

Sasuke grit his teeth angrily, but nodded, "Yes, I understand." He growled under his breath, "Besides, the way things are right now, I'm _weaker_ than I was before I went to Orochimaru, and I don't doubt that he's gotten _stronger_. I was no match for him before; he'd destroy me with even less effort now."

Nibiiro looked at the youth proudly, he knew how much such a confession had cost him in terms of pride. Sasuke caught that look, and glanced down, flushing slightly in confusion. He felt his hair get ruffled affectionately and bristled a bit. Akari glared at the display, hunched her shoulders and grumbled about male bonding and how it shouldn't happen in public.

"And here's the city, home sweet home for the next week!" Nibiiro declared as they reached the crest of a small hill that slightly overlooked the city.

"Week? The next _week!_" the dark-haired youth barked in dismay,"We're staying here for a _week!_"

"Or more, depending on how quickly we get a job." Nibiiro commented idly, not noticing Akari's evil grin at Sasuke's discomfort. "A lot of the jobs available here are local, villagers taking advantage of the office here, kinda like in a Hidden Village. So we may stay here as long as a month or more."

Sasuke whimpered. He clearly wasn't relishing the idea of living in such a painful place, there was clearly more on his mind than just that.

"I know that you won't be able to practice ninjutsu or genjutsu here, but you can definitely brush up on your taijutsu and maybe start practicing with one particular weapon." Sasuke looked over at him, "Just because they mine Cold Iron here, doesn't mean that everything's made from it. They sell some very fine conventional steel weapons in the market. Plus, silk wrapped hilts negates the Cold Iron, if you want to try out a blade made from it."

Sasuke's expression went thoughtful at that.

"Well, if you two boys are going to stand there staring all day, I'm going to head in and get myself a room. Ja." Akari said, heading off.

"Ja." The grey-eyed Nin returned, then gestured for his apprentice to follow.

* * *

The only other times in his life that Sasuke had been in such continuous pain, low level as it was, was first when he'd had a bad fever when he was seven, right after his clan's death, and when he'd had the Curse seal unbound just after the second Chuunin exam trial. _Bad place to visit and I'll be damned if I'd live here; _he thought as he and Nibi- er _Ryoushi_, entered a semi-decent inn to bargain for room.

The thought of leaving to travel on his own crossed his mind again, as it had earlier when Nibiiro said how long he planned on stay. But he dismissed the idea, he needed guidance and tutoring at the moment, and his self-proclaimed sensei was freely offering both.

Refining his taijutsu was a good idea, as was the idea of obtaining a weapon he could specialize in. Training his body would increase his stamina, which would increase his chakra reserves. _Not_ using chakra for an extended period, like say, a month, could refill those reserves; something he was in desperate need of.

The fever he had suffered from when Nibiiro had rescued him had depleted him down to nothing. The escape from Akastsuki had drained him of most of what he'd recovered, and the removal of the second third of the Seal earlier had nearly put him back where he had started.

_In other words, an Academy reject could pummel me right now in terms of stamina and reserves;_ Sasuke grimaced. He watched as his sensei bargained with the Innkeeper for a room. Then listened in concern. Then frowned in mild dismay. _This guy is supposed to be my sensei and he can't even haggle properly!_ Just as Nibiiro was going to seal the bargain, with the Innkeeper gloating blatantly, Sasuke stepped in and skillfully dropped the price by another third, much to the Innkeeper's dismay

"Why did you-?" The older teen stammered as his 'student' drug him off to the general vicinity of their room after grabbing the keys.

"You. Can't. Bargain." Sasuke stated clearly, "You were letting yourself get cheated with some of the most _obvious_ of tricks! I can't just stand by and let you waste the money _I'm _going to have to rely on until I can get some of my own!"

The Jinchuuriki chuckled sheepishly, "I suppose that's true. But was I really that bad?" Sasuke looked him straight in the eye.

"No; you were worse." He turned and unlooked the room that the two were going to be living in for the next week at least, month at most; while behind him Nibiiro sulked in his Cloud o' Gloom ™.

There is one thing that's important to keep in mind when you think about Sasuke; he enjoys acting like there is absolutely nothing wrong with him. He will act as if he is completely uninjured even if one of his limbs is only hanging on by a thread. Currently, he was acting as if everything that had been done to him at Sound hadn't affected him at all. This was not true; he had escaped, but not unscathed. He was currently burdened with a _load_ of phobias.

Small tight spaces made him twitchy, being in a crowd made him break out in a nervous sweat. If he stayed in either space for prolonged periods, his anxiety would work up into a screaming fit. It got worse; snakes, which he had previously only noted to see if it was dangerous or not, made him freeze in pure animal panic.

The current phobia that he was facing was the worst of all, and one that hadn't made itself an issue before. He was about to enter a hotel room that had only one large bed, one small door and one tiny window with an adult male that was considerably stronger than him and he was expected to share that bed for the night with said stronger male.

As Nibiiro brushed past him to put their few things away, images from Sasuke's time at Sound in Orochimaru's company flooded the youth's mind. Nibiiro was speaking, but Sasuke couldn't hear him. All he heard was his own pulse and the echo of an evil voice. He wasn't seeing his new sensei anymore, and he wasn't in a safe, peaceful village miles from anyplace he'd been before; he was seeing his old master and he was in the heart of Sound, standing in the doorway of that special little room reserved just for him…

* * *

_Okay, so I can't haggle;_ Nibiiro sulked childishly_; is it my fault I never had anyone to teach me?_ The young adult shook off his mock-gloom with a smile; _well, I can just ask Sasuke to show me how it's done in repayment for the lessons I'm going to give him later on._ That's the way Nibiiro preferred things, an exchange of information rather than one holding his superiority over the other.

He walked past his apprentice, who was briefly going to be his master in one art at least, and entered the room. Seeing the interior, he sighed in mild vexation.

"Sorry Sasuke, looks like we're going to have to share the bed." It was standard practice in small-area inns for there to be only one large bed per room. They were lucky that they got the bed and the room to themselves; Nibiiro had at times shared a similar sized bed with five other complete strangers. Sharing the space with one other person with whom he was familiar was going to be a welcomed change.

"After we get settled in, we'll head out. I have some items that I can bargain off, and you can show me how it's done properly! Then we can go to the bounty office and- Sasuke?" Nibiiro glanced up, surprised that his companion hadn't made his 'I'm listening' noises or at least prowled the room or expressed his disapproval at the sleeping arrangements. "Sasuke?" He asked again in growing alarm. The youth's face was awfully pale, and his breathing was harsh and his smell- _SHIT!_

"Sasuke! Snap out it!" The kid was about to go into a full blown panic attack! Nibiiro would never confuse that particular smell with any other. The Jinchuuriki rushed over to the youth to try and ground him back into the real world, but Sasuke responded poorly to that, jerking back and trying to run. Nibiiro was faster.

_Damn, this is just like when Ashante- shit!_ Nibiiro grabbed Sasuke and pinned the kid against him, back flush to the adult's front. One arm was wrapped over Sasuke's chest, pinning his arms down. The other hand was pressed over the youth's mouth, preventing him from screaming.

This position would have been bad, had Sasuke been able to think and use his free hands to make seals. But right now, all his thoughts were consumed with fear. He didn't have the ability to even think about using his jutsus, or going for his weapons. He didn't even have the ability to think about ducking down and out of Nibiiro's grip.

"It's okay, you're okay, I won' t hurt you, you're okay." Nibiiro murmured over and over softly to the blindly struggling youth, _child_ in his arms.

This was the only way that he knew to help someone already in a panic attack; limit their oxygen and wait it out. His large hand over Sasuke's mouth kept the youth from gasping in needed air and also partly blocked his nose. The Uchiha's blind thrashing was burning more air than he could take in; sooner or later he'd exhaust himself and the fatigue would help him come back to himself.

"It's okay, you're okay, it's alright Sasuke, I'm here and I won't hurt you, it's okay, you're safe…"

Slowly, painfully slowly, Sasuke stopped struggling so hard, then stopped struggling altogether. His hands had a death grip on the arm that was wrapped around him. Nibiiro could feel the youth's rapid pulse, his fearful trembling. The _child_ was gasping like a cornered animal, and in some senses, he was a cornered animal. Still Nibiiro didn't let him go, simply kept murmuring reassuringly and rocking slightly from side to side, waiting.

"It's okay, you're okay, I have you and I won't hurt you, you're safe, Sasuke, you're safe." A hand reached up and tugged lightly at the one clasped over Sasuke's mouth. Nibiiro looked down into the frightened, tear-filled eyes turned up at him. Frightened and shamed, with a great deal of sanity back in them. "Ah, you're back." He said gently.

Sasuke nodded, dropping his eyes again in humiliation. Nibiiro dropped his arms to wrap them loosely around the youth's waist, still holding him gently. The former Konoha shinobi didn't try and break away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" A firm head shake greeted that offer.

"It usually helps to talk you know." Another head shake. The older teen sighed.

"Can I at least ask what it was that set you off, so that I can avoid this happening again?" A choked noise, akin to a stifled sob, answered that. Nibiiro looked down at the youth; he was entering the second stage of an attack. First there was the blind fear, then there was broken reaction. The grey-eyed shinobi gently steered Sasuke over to the wall and sat down, pulling the youth to sit down beside him.

At first, Sasuke didn't want to be comforted. But under his sensei's insistence, he allowed Nibiiro to hold him and rock him gently. For the very first time in his life, Sasuke cried himself out while being held and comforted by another. He hadn't realized before how much that helped. _Now to make him hate me, but the kid _has _to talk about it, and there might not be such an opportunity again._

"He hurt you, didn't he?" Nibiiro murmured making the youth stiffen, "Orochimaru did more than put that Curse Seal on you, didn't he?"

Sasuke tried to pull away, but his sensei held fast. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault." Nibiiro said, "It's not your fault what happened."

"How can you say that?" Sasuke screamed, "You weren't there! How can you say that?" The older teen caught his face and turned it up so they stared at each other.

"I know you, I know Orochimaru and I know about this kind of thing. I know that you wouldn't ask to be raped, Sasuke. But I know that that pedophile wouldn't care how much you fought against him, he'd get his way whatever it took. And that's not your fault."

Sasuke let out a chocked noise, then buried his face against Nibiiro's shoulder. It was another first for him; he had never given into hysterical tears before. He had always been afraid of ridicule. But Nibiiro said nothing more, simply held onto his apprentice and comforted him, gently rubbing the boy's back. _This is going to be one long night.

* * *

_

A.S.: #peeks over sandbag barricade# Umm… hi again. #ducks sudden barrage of rotten fruit, feces and sporks# Wait! Stop! I surrender! I surrender! It's not my fault!

Sasuke: So what's your excuse _this_ time?

A.S.: Uhhhh, the devil made me do it? #more nasty fruit, feces and sporks# Okay! Okay! Not true! It was work and family and, uh, studying! Yeah, I was studying!

Nibiiro: #holds up newly enlarged list of favorite fics# This doesn't look like studying to me!

A.S.: Yes it is! It's studying for me to be a better author, I swear! I was checking to see what works best and to get new inspiration! That's were Akari came from!

Sasuke: Is that true Obaa-chan?

#SMACK!#

Akari: Don't you use such a familiar tone with me! And no it's not true! There's not a single Uchiha aunt in any of those fics! I blame alcohol!

A.S.: But I don't drink! I hate the stuff!

Nibiiro: Temporary insanity then.

A.S.: Well, er, ah…. Anyway, this is the fifth chapter, and the sixth should come out sooner, I hope. But don't worry overly much if it doesn't. I DO NOT abandon fics, it's wrong to leave the readers hanging like that! If something comes up that forces me to abandon anything, I will find the time needed to put a DISCONTINUED down, so that you know. If that happens, I give you my blessing for any so inclined to pick up where I left off so that the story is finished in some manner at least. But I'm describing worst case, I'm-going-to-die-in-a-month type scenario. At the current moment, that's not going to happen; I will keep writing. Anywho, ja for now and check out my other fics! They all need the love!

Sasuke: Look who's self advertising.

A.S.: Silence you! I'm entitled!


	6. Why, Shopping?

AN: Arg. Life got really busy, so fics got pushed to the side. Sorry 'bout that. Here's the updated and pray that my life doesn't get that busy ever again, I might go insane!

http:// bea87. deviantart. com 

BEA's dA site, check her out and tell her that she's awesome since her fanart of my fic 'New Bloodlines' got me typing again.

* * *

_I hate my life sometimes,_ Nibiiro thought as he exited his small room to lean against the balcony and watch the sun set. He and Sasuke had been in Kariudo for roughly a week now and things weren't getting much better. Oh, he and his apprentice were pretty well recovered and the youth was making a great deal of progress in learning how to use a kodachi short sword, but the kid still wasn't talking. And Nibiiro still hadn't gotten a decent job yet.

There had been many tiny little jobs, all of which were low pay, but nothing large enough to fund an cross-country treks yet. Essentially, all that Nibiiro was doing was paying for current expenses, he wasn't _making_ any money. _Of course, if I'd just kept the money Sasuke and I made when he sold that small emerald, we might have enough to leave, but I gotta be a softy don't I?_

_#Some things do not change.#_ Byakko added smugly.

#_I didn't ask for your opinion, fur-ball!#_ Nibiiro snapped without heat. _#Besides, I don't have a weapon on me that would work well for the kid. Hell, my swords are taller than he is and are way heavier. How's he supposed to use those?#_

_#I did not say that your kindheartedness was an ill thing, I merely commented that such kindness has not changed since the beginning.#_

_#Yeah, well…#_ Nibiiro had bought the sword that Sasuke was practicing with, a very high quality, folded steel, Cold Iron alloy sword. It was a thing of beauty and the kid had spent a full five minutes just gaping at the it, eyes filled with awe. And then Nibiiro had gotten his first real smile out of him, it had taken nearly bankrupting himself to do it.

He sighed and rested his head on his arms; _still, it was worth it. He's really improving his strength, and he get's a little better in swordplay each time we train. A worth-while investment, I think._

_#Agreed.# _

_#Even so, we still aren't getting anywhere, and I don't like the silence I've been getting from Laniana-sama and Ashante. They should have tried to contact me by now, even if I'm not where I'm supposed to be.#_

_#Assuming they did not encounter the same difficulty as you.# _Byakko pointed out. Nibiiro felt sick, that was exactly the thing that he was worried about. Not that Lana-sama couldn't take care of herself, but Ashante was….

_#Fragile#_ Byakko filled in, regretfully. Nibiiro winced, fragile indeed. It had been a few years since the young man had last seen the slightly older woman, but if his childhood had been harsh, hers had been torturous. Sasuke's ordeal looked like a walk in the park by comparison. If Akastsuki attacked and used any kind of psychological assult, it was quite likely that she would break beneath it.

_#You are assuming that she is as she was. Ashante may not be so broken any longer. Suzaku is a kind spirit.#_

_#True, but I don't know if Ashante is capable of healing!#_

_#Do not underestimate, and hold to hope.# _Was Byakko's response. Nibiiro was feeling pessimistic though, and continued to fret for moment. _#Enough, there is not that you can do for the moment, focus on your own concerns. You need money so that you may travel comfortably and the office here is not providing. How might you over come that?#_

Nibiiro sighed, _#The only thing I can think of is to team up with Akari. Most of the jobs I saw needed three people at least, and she's the only one I'd trust working with.#_

_#Ugh.#_

_#Tell me about it. The problem with that plan should be obvious enough. She still want's to force-feed Sasuke his own liver, and he'd bloody let her!# _

_#Familial devotion is an odd thing.#_

_#Is that what it is? He just rolls over and let's her say whatever the hell she wants, lets her order him about, then bad mouth him, because she's his aunt?!#_

_#That is my thought.#_ Byakko said. Nibiiro grumbled verbally after that, he couldn't figure it. Was Sasuke's devotion to his only remaining family member who wasn't a psychotic killer (that they knew of) really that great? Apparently. Nibiiro sighed again and stood up, tomorrow was going to be another day devoted to making money and training in every spare moment. He needed to get some sleep.

"Where are you going?" A familiar voice asked.

"Akari-san," Nibiiro acknowledged, turning to look at the woman walking up the outside stairs, "I'm heading to bed, but since you're here, I'd like to ask you something."

"Go ahead," She said as she reached the balcony level.

"Mind if we work together on a job?" He asked, "All of the decent paying ones need more than one or two people, and I need the money. We've worked together before, so it shouldn't be too hard…"

"I have no problem working with _you,_" She growled, "But that chuck of filth you're traveling wit-"

#_Wham!#_

She never got the chance to continue, Nibiiro's patience had been pushed to the limit.

"One more word, one more _look _of contempt at him, and I swear I'll not be responsible for my actions." Came a grating purr from the Jinchuuriki's throat. He had Akari slammed against the inn wall, arm at her neck, mouth near her ear. Her expression was one of total shock, and well it was! Nibiiro was usually endlessly patient with mild harassment, letting insults roll of his back like water from duck feathers. Never, in her entire association with him, had he ever lost his temper.

But he had lost it now. He was more than a little fed up with her. Yes, the matter of her birth was painful to her, but Sasuke was _not_ responsible. Just because they had an ancestor in common did not give her leave to attack him verbally each time the passed each other on the street, in the inn, in the taverns, anywhere!

"A thing for you to consider," He continued while Akari struggled to breathe around the pressure on her neck, "Did you ask to be born?"

"What?" she gasped, confused. She glanced at her assailant, and paled at what she saw. Nibiiro _was_ pissed, and his anger brought out the demon in him.

"I said, 'did you ask to be born?' Answer!" He pressed in more, then eased back to let her breath and respond.

"N-no… No!"

"Do you think Sasuke did?"

"No!"

"Did you ask to be born as you were?"

"No."

"Do you think he did?"

She whimpered, "No…"

"Well then," He pulled back and his intense blue eyes glared fiercely at her from a tiger-like mask, "Why do you treat him as if he did?"

"I don'-" She was slammed against the wall again, choking.

"Are you responsible for the sins of you father? Of you're mother?"

She hadn't the air to answer, so Akari shook a hard negative.

"Is anyone responsible for the sins of their parents? Answer!"

"No!" She gasped.

"Then stop making Sasuke pay for the crimes made against you." Nibiiro stood back and let Akari collapse to the floor, gasping and choking. "Or…" She stared up fearfully. Nibiiro's fist smashed through the mortared stone wall, without the help of chakra. She shrank back, then, when Nibiiro made no further moves, ran.

Nibiiro stood there for a moment, trying to regain control of his temper. And then-

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! What the hell was I thinking!?!" He scolded himself as he oh so sensibly slammed his head against the balcony railing. "Gah! Now how am I gonna get her help? That's got to take the prize for stupidity!"

_#Agreed.#_

"I wasn't asking for your opinion…" He muttered to his guest quietly as he leaned against the railing again, cradling his now-aching head.

"You weren't asking for whose opinion?" Came another familiar voice, this one much more welcomed. Sasuke came out of the room they were renting, loosely wrapped in a blanket over his nightclothes.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, Akari did," Sasuke said, yawning as he too leaned against the railing, "Her signature is very 'loud'." Different shinobi have different chakra signatures that can be read at a distance if one knew how to do so. Sasuke was getting rather good at 'reading'. It was odd, given their current environment, that he was picking up this skill now.

"So what's going on? Wasn't Akari-san here?"

"She was, and then she and I had a… disagreement." Nibiiro answered, carefully not looking at his apprentice. Sasuke blinked up at him then rested his head on his arms with a sleepy sigh. His sensei glanced at him, pleasantly surprised that the kid had chosen to stand so close to him that he felt his body warmth. The proximity showed that Sasuke was coming to trust his sensei a little more. "C'mon kid, we need to get to bed."

"Unn," Sasuke answered, already half asleep.

"Careful, that's the wall, not the door…"

"Unn,"

* * *

The next morning came too early, as all mornings seemed to do. Nibiiro hurried Sasuke out, hastily passing by the innkeeper that was wailing over a new hole in the wall. Sasuke peered at it curiously, and then peered at his suspiciously sweating sensei.

"So, you had a disagreement with Akari-san last night, right?" He asked.

"Yup," Nibiiro answered, voice slightly higher pitched than usual, "Just your run of the mill mild argument."

"Uh-huh, right, sure! I believe you." Sasuke got a bap upside the head for that. They headed over to the Bounty Hunter office, passing down one of the busier market streets. Merchant stalls lined either side of the road, and almost all of them were doing brisk business. Sasuke eyed some of the goods, not that he or his sensei could assist in the brisk business, but he liked seeing the various things that were for sale.

Some of the items were really nice, woven blankets, ceramic jars, jewelry, all of which could be art pieces rather than everyday goods. Kariudo was a popular trading outpost, partly because of the nearby bounty office, which attracted potential buyers, and partly because of the valuable metal that was mined there.

Weapons' merchants from all over the entire continent, and some from other continents, came to Kariudo for the high quality weapons that were crafted in the city. There were also a number of kenjutsu dojo's hosted in the city, Sasuke would spy on a number of various lessons whenever he could, working on his spying skills at the same time as picking up some tricks. Nibiiro didn't seemed bothered by his apprentice sneaking off to watch other teachers, in fact he approved, saying that he was a master of the broad sword, not the short kodachi blade.

But, from current Nibiiro's expression, Sasuke judged that he wouldn't have the spare time to peek in on a dojo today. The youth knew that his sensei was worried by their financial state, something that gave Sasuke an unfamiliar pang of guilt. If Nibiiro hadn't been so generous with his gift, they might have enough money to move on.

_Still, this long delay is doing wonders for my recovery. I feel much stronger now, and I know that I'm learning a lot about the sword. It's not an extension of my arm the way Nibiiro's blade is to him, but it's getting there._ Also, Sasuke was happily basking in the company of a relative, however cranky that relative was.

Sasuke had long since resigned himself to being the last of his kind, discounting Itachi. One of the youth's goals was to reestablish his clan, a goal that he hadn't thrown away, even with his zeal to kill his brother. He had fretted about how exactly he was going to go about doing that, beyond the obvious that is. Akari's existence gave him a little lee-way; the burden of rebuilding the clan needn't be on his shoulders alone, thanks to her.

Now, if only he could gain her acceptance and liking, so he could encourage her to find a suitable mate with which to make a family…

Probably not going to happen any time soon, not with her wanting to kill him because of his grandfather's sin. He sighed; his grandfather was already dead, killed by Itachi. Couldn't she leave what happened in the past? He twitched at that thought, but couldn't understand why.

They finally reached the Bounty office, Nib- er- Ryoushi asked what jobs needed doing and started to leaf through the stack that was handed to him. Sasuke, on the other hand, leaned against a nearby wall and settled in to be seriously bored for a long time. It always took awhile for Ni- Ryoushi to pick a job that could be done by just the two of them.

They'd only been in the office for a short time when Akari walked in. She hesitated when she saw who was already there, giving Ryoushi a wary look. This was definitely not like the confident, aggressive young woman, and Sasuke had to wonder just what had gone on in that 'disagreement' that the two adults had had.

Ryoushi gave her a cold look before he continued to look for a good job. Akari swallowed, gathered her courage and approached, not the sensei, but the student.

"Sasuke-san, could I speak with you for a moment?" She asked, her tone… polite? Sasuke blinked, that was different.

"Of course. Here? Or-"

"Oh, outside, if you don't mind." '_If I don't'- what's going on?_ The youth cast a suspicious glance at his sensei. Nibiiro/Ryoushi's face was uncharacteristically closed and expressionless, although his eyes were hard and cold. "We'll be right back, sensei."

"Hn." Was all the young man said, as he gave Akari a warning look. She paled, but lifted her chin stubbornly. Then she and Sasuke stepped outside, Sasuke ready to kill to know what had passed between the two.

"Yes?" Sasuke asked, when Akari opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to find something to say.

"I, uh, I, um, I need, uh, need to, um, apologize to, er, apologize to you, uh, for, uh, my behavior." She finally managed to say. The youth blinked again, _oookaaay…_

"I, uh, I've been, um, I've been really, er, really cruel to, uh, cruel to you, uh, for, er, for something that, uh, happened before you were born and, uhm-"

"It's okay, I can understand." Sasuke said. Akari looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"I wonder if you really do." She sighed and looked uncomfortable. "Anyway, the furball in there thinks we'd all do better if we worked with each other, and well… I've not been too kind you."

Sasuke said nothing, just bowed slightly, neither denying nor confirming her statement.

"C'mon, let's get back inside before the bastard thinks he should look for us."

"Right."

* * *

After that… seriously _weird _conversation, things improved dramatically. Akari decided to help out Sasuke and Nibiiro and the three of them finally started to make some serious cash. It was really odd that most of the jobs available required three people, but that was how it was.

As the week passed, Sasuke and Akari's relationship slowly improved. They never really became friends, per say, nor did they gain an aunt/nephew bond But Akari no longer wanted to kill Sasuke, which, needless to say, was a good thing. She even decided to help Sasuke train with his sword, and miraculously did _not_ make dirty sword jokes. Often.

But Nibiiro was still worried about his student, Sasuke still refused to talk about his problems. Each night still, the young teen would have nightmares, although the older teen was able to wake him before it became too bad. Sasuke still hated to sleep next to the adult, although he had no choice and exhaustion usually knocked him out as soon as he lay down.

They were all working hard to earn money, and Sasuke was training hard in every spare moment. Add to that the constant exhaustion of being perpetually pained by the metal in the soil, on top of the boy's fragile mental state... The situation couldn't last like this, something would have to break. The Jinchuuriki dreaded the moment it would.

Nibiiro counted out his money in the safety of his empty room. Akari was training with the kid, her sword style being much more similar to the style that Sasuke wanted to learn, and she was finally being decent enough that he trusted his student with her. The Jinchuuriki smiled at the coin piles, he had more than enough now to not only get to the Hidden City, but also to buy a couple of horses as well. Shinobi moved fast in a forest, but they'd have to travel across a vast savannah and in that, horses were faster.

The door banged open, and Sasuke walked in. Nibiiro looked up and felt his fond greeting die on his lips. The youth was pale, sweaty and shaking. His eyes were glazed over and held an anxiety that was frightening. The older teen dropped the coins he was counting and rushed over to his student, wondering what Akari had done.

"What happened? What's wrong?" _What did she do? _He asked reaching out to hold Sasuke. Nibiiro became very concerned when the youth buried his face against his sensei's chest. This wasn't the boy he knew! Yet his scent was the same and a henged bushin would have had a different smell. Not to mention a henged bushin would vanish the moment that it encountered the soil here, but that was beside the point.

"Snake…." Sasuke whimpered, and started to shake in earnest. Nibiiro was earnestly confused, he knew that Sasuke hated snakes and feared them, but for one to provoke this reaction? Something else must have happened.

"What about a snake?" He asked softly.

"There- training…" Sasuke choked out, "Remembered-"

_Ah-hah…_ Akari was a fierce tutor, demanding perfection in her students. Not that Sasuke would do any less, but then _Orochimaru _wouldn't demand anything less either. Nibiiro had noticed that Sasuke would spend a period of time after each spar with Akari, alone, just leaning against a tree, face a blank mask. Nibiiro had assumed that Sasuke was cooling off, catching his breath. But what if he'd been suppressing negative emotions instead, triggered by a similar training style to that of his former master?

Add to that the symbol of his former master, the snake… _No wonder he broke._ Memories of that time would be irrepressible. _And he came to me for comfort?_ Nibiiro hadn't realized that he and his student had forged that close of a bond; Sasuke was always hiding behind his mask, never really showing his true feelings. The adult's lips twitched, it was nice to be needed, but why did it have to be like this?

He carefully steered his student over to the bed and sat down with him on the side. Rubbing the boy's back, he waited for Sasuke to regain some composure before asking anything.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked carefully when Sasuke pulled away a bit. Firm head shake. The young adult sighed.

"It really will help if you just let it out, and maybe I can help you rationalize some things."

"This…" Sasuke said slowly, Nibiiro held his breath hopefully- "It's not something I can talk about."

-And let it out in disappointment. "Why not?"

Sasuke's lips pressed together, "I _can't!_ I just- I can't!"

Nibiiro rested his chin on the boy's head, and felt him stiffen slightly, "You know I won't let Orochimaru-" Sasuke flinched, "-get to you, right?"

"Promise?" The word was whispered softly, the Jinchuuriki looked down at his student. Sasuke looked up, eyes filled with unshed tears, "Promise you won't let him get me?"

"I promise."

"Even if you have to kill me to keep him from- from-?"

"Whoa, wait a sec!"

"Promise me!" Sasuke demanded, suddenly frantic, "Promise me you'll kill me if he get's hold of me! Promise me! I'd rather die than- than-!"

"Shh, hush, I promise, I promise, hush it's okay… it's okay…" Nibiiro was baffled at the sudden turn, how had Sasuke gone from mildly upset and in need of reassurance to utterly hysterical? _Duh, he's been raped and tortured and not that long ago! Hello Captain Oblivious?_ Nibiiro winced at his cynical conscience, _A-heh, yeah, oops?_ He didn't have time to argue with his conscience right now, Sasuke was sobbing inconsolably against his chest.

He murmured soothing nonsense to the boy, just as he'd done that night just over two weeks ago, grateful that this time at least, Sasuke hadn't had a panic attack before hand. _Or did he?_ _I'll have to ask Akari what happened, he might have had an attack when he saw the snake, he was certainly shaky enough when he came in to have had one._ Nibiiro stifled a sigh; he was slightly grateful that Sasuke was venting his locked up emotions this way, but the kid wasn't doing himself any favors by letting everything build up to the breaking point like this!

_#And think you not that that is the reason he ran to that mock-human in the first place?#_

_#Huh, that'd make sense. That'd make a lot of sense, considering how Orochimaru tempts people to him.# _

_#As he tempted you.#_

_#Don't remind me! Please?#_ Byakko receded again and Nibiiro noticed that Sasuke was becoming less hysterical and more spent, clinging weakly to his sensei and protector, shaking occasion in hiccupping sobs.

"Better?" The adult asked. Sasuke hid his face against Nibiiro's chest, ears red with embarrassment at his weakness. "That means 'yes' then. You know, if you let me know about things when they're still small problems, things wouldn't build up to this point."

"What do you mean?" The boy asked, voice muffled by over-tunic.

"I mean, you're letting your negative emotions build up by not talking about it and venting. Emotions can't be blocked away like that, you're human and sooner or later something will break. And that's why you get panic attacks and go hysterical like this, your inner emotions are breaking free to the surface."

"This never happened- before-" Sasuke said, turning his face a little. Suddenly, he seemed to notice his position and pushed away, blushing furiously. That was the boy that Nibiiro knew! He nobly refrained from chuckling and let Sasuke move back, but could resist ruffling his hair affectionately. Sasuke blushed deeper and batted his sensei's hand away. "You still haven't answered." He growled.

"Hmm, oh, I think we both know why you're, uh, having emotional episodes now. It's harder to suppress emotion if you've been, um, 'injured' the way you have been." Nibiiro gently tilted Sasuke's chin up so that they were looking eye to eye. He wanted to impress the sincerity of his next words on his student. "It's still never good to lock things away, Sasuke. If you've been hurt badly physically, would you hesitate to ask for help in tending the wound? No, so why should you not ask for help if you've been hurt, emotionally."

Sasuke glanced aside, "It's not the same…" He protested weakly.

"I beg to differ." Nibiiro said sternly, then gentled his features, "Please, let me help. Let me…" His tone changed, "Let me… redeem myself…"

Sasuke stared, "What?"

Mood swing! "Anyway, you look exhausted; let me clear the bed for you. You haven't been sleeping well, how do you expect to recover if you don't get some sleep?" Nibiiro pushed the now thoroughly bewildered Sasuke down on the bed after he'd cleared the coins away. The young adult tucked in the sputtering boy and then swept out with a cheery "G'night!", leaving Sasuke to wonder just what the hell had just happened.

Nibiiro leaned against the balcony rail and blew out a dramatic sigh at the close call.

#_And who the hell was it that spoke of locking up emotions and not letting others assist?!?# _Byakko demanded angrily. Nibiiro winced.

_#I know, I know, I just… I just don't want to talk about that just yet.#_ Byakko growled warningly, and Nibiiro hastily continued, _#I'll tell him! I'll tell him about… that, but not now. He needs to deal with his own problems, he doesn't need to know about mine. When we get to Talon, I'll tell him.#_

Byakko sighed, although how a beast without his own body could do so, Nibiiro never figured out. _#So, you are planning to head there.#_

_#Only makes sense, it's one of the safest places in the world and I think he'll like the people there.#_

_#Your people or the citizens?# _

_#Both, and I think it'd do him good to get a good close look at the citizens. It'll show him that you can loose all and still move forward.#_

_#All too true,# _Byakko suddenly chuckled slightly.

_#What?#_

_#Oh, I just thought about what the young ones first encounter with Laniana and Tiamat-sama would be like.#_

Nibiiro choked, dear gods, he hadn't thought of that! He was probably going to have to wait a while until Sasuke was in excellent health before he went to Hidden Talon, for Sasuke's sake.

* * *

The next day was rough, Sasuke was only half in the real world, thinking hard about what had happened last afternoon, for which Nibiiro was somewhat grateful. It was nice that his words were being given that much attention, but still! It'd also be nice if his partner would bloody pay attention to his work. And since Akari was packing to leave, saying that she'd amassed enough wealth to carry on her plans, whatever the hell they were, Nibiiro really need his partner's full attention with no third person to pick up the slack.

_At least I got a good long talk with Akari-chan; turns out Sasuke did have a panic attack. She hadn't expected that, but I'm glad she didn't try to beat Sasuke out of it._ Actually, he was rather pleased with the way his former partner had handled the event, sitting next to the gasping boy, rubbing his shoulder and pleading with him to snap out of it. She hadn't scolded him, hadn't struck him, she'd just stayed with the boy, being a constant positive presence to home in on.

_But she's leaving now, _Nibiiro shrugged, _well, she has the right to do what she want's and go where she pleases. _Nibiiro was planning to leave soon as well. Right now, he and Sasuke were looking over horses. Or rather, _Nibiiro_ was looking over the horses, and _Sasuke_ would do the haggling to buy them. Nibiiro still wasn't so good at the latter, in spite of over two weeks of 'training'.

As they walked down the stalls, one of the horses, a blood-red bay mare, nudged Sasuke and nickered demandingly. The action jarred the boy out of his musings and with a small chuckle he reached up to scratch her ears. The mare groaned happily, leaning her head into the touch. The stable master stared in surprise.

"Tha-that 'orse almost never let people near 'er, and she ain't never asked for attention afore! 'oo the 'eck are you?"

"Just… Just a traveler." Sasuke answered, kind of surprised. He paused in the scratching and got nudged sharply and snorted at. Hastily he continued and the mare drooped her head, groaning in pleasure.

"What's this one called?" Nibiiro asked, inspecting the mare. She had good conformation, although he'd like to lunge her to see if she had any hidden foot or leg injuries.

"Shadow Fire," the stable master said grudgingly.

"I'd like to look her over, if I could." Nibiiro said. The stable master grunted and grabbed a halter. As soon as he approached the mare, her demeanor went from happily relaxed to angry. She laid her ears back and bared her teeth, squealing and scraping her hoof in outrage at his proximity. Sasuke blinked and pulled away a bit in surprise. The stable master thrust the halter into the boy's hands.

"'e-'ere, you d'it." The man stuttered backing away even farther.

"Uhm, how?" The youth said, looking at the tangle of straps in confusion.

"Like this," Nibiiro said, taking the halter from him and then held out his hand for the mare to sniff. She did so condescendingly, acting more like a princess cat than a horse. Still, she permitted Nibiiro to slip the halter over her nose and cinch the straps together behind her ears. And she allowed herself to be led out, neither balking nor starting at odd sounds or invisible boogiemen. Some highbred horses insisted on spooking at everything, as if to prove that they are indeed the ones in charge.

Sasuke watched it all in amazement, and then watched carefully as Nibiiro lunged the mare in the provided round arena, tossing a soft rope at her heels to encourage her to trot, then canter. The young man murmured encouragement, never taking his eyes off of the dainty creature.

"She moves nicely," He said to the cautiously watching stable master, who was leaning against the round pen railing. That man may not have liked the beast, but he wasn't about to let a good piece of horseflesh get damaged by an incompetent potential buyer. So he was supervising, making sure that Nibiiro did indeed, as he'd stated, know what he was doing.

"She's a nice piece, well bred, but fractious." The stable master grunted, "She don't take to just anyone, but she seems to 'ave taken to you twain." He stared at them suspiciously. Nibiiro focused on bringing the mare to heel, tempting her with the oats he'd stuffed in his pockets. That was one thing that all horses everywhere have in common, their natural greed.

She came eagerly; lipping up every stray piece and then letting herself get rubbed down with a damp cloth by Sasuke. The boy looked absolutely charmed by the mare, who was leaning into the rub like any good, pleasure seeking creature would.

"Have you a spare saddle I could use on her? I'd like to see how she rides." Nibiiro asked the stable master. In answer, he bellowed at one of his stable boys, who quickly returned with the needed tack. Nibiiro quickly saddled her, and then gestured for Sasuke to mount.

"I have no clue how to ride." Sasuke stated firmly and with only a trace of embarrassment. For a moment Nibiiro was completely flabbergasted. Sasuke was noble. Like every good commoner, Nibiiro paired noble with mounted. Oh, sure, Sasuke hadn't known how to tack the mare out, but a nobleman would have had stable boys in plenty to do that for him. So it never once occurred to him that Sasuke wouldn't be as competent in the saddle as Nibiiro himself was.

The young adult retrieved his jaw and cleared his throat. "Then this would be an excellent time to learn, don't you think?" And before Sasuke could protest, Nibiiro lifted the boy and placed him firmly in the saddle. The mare craned her neck to look, and lipped Sasuke's foot and then went back to trying to get the grain out of Nibiiro's pocket. She was a clever beast, and had noted immediately where the treats had come from.

Sasuke's seat in the saddle had all the grace of a sack of turnips. Nibiiro set to correcting that.

"Back straight and tuck in your knees. Heels down and feet in the stirrups, no not _on, in_. Do you call that tucking your knees in? Pretend that you have a silk scarf between your knees and the saddle that you don't dare drop unless you want to tell the lady why her token has dung on it…

"No, no- grip with your thighs, not your calves…

"Do you call that posting? I've seen arthritic old grannies do better!

"How many times do I have to tell you? Sit up _straight_!

"Knees _in._ Heels_ down._ _Don't_ put your weight in you _feet_, you put it in your _thighs._"

Four hours passed like that, Sasuke's jaw clenched firmly to keep from snapping back at his sensei. Nibiiro wondered if the boy had cracked his molars. But finally the youth was riding nicely, the mare responding as sweetly as you please, all for the occasional mouthful of oats. She was a definite keeper, especially since the stable master had hinted that he wouldn't mind seeing the last of her. All animals were prone to their moods, and would take a liking to this person, but a venomous _dislike_ to another. The stable master and his mother were two of the latter, for no real reason.

None of the beasts here were ill cared for, and the dogs fawned on the stable master with real love, one of the reasons that Nibiiro had picked this place to shop for horses. A second beast was easily found, Sun Leaf, a young dun gelding that, while not as finely conformed and dainty a horse as the mare, was still as nice tempered and sound as her. And as easily bribed, an important point.

Sasuke haggled for the beasts, and then haggled for tack at a used goods store, since the stiff leather of brand new saddles would chafe both beast and rider. Then Nibiiro eyed the state of his purse with woe; he'd not thought to get as nice of beasts as the two he'd gotten. They'd been worth it, but buying them had been a little dearer than he'd wanted. Back to the missions office, with fingers crossed for a good job.

Wonders of wonders, there was a good job for just two people, and a burden beast. The dun had been trained to harness, something that not all horses were trained for. Nibiiro was just signing the job contract when who should walk in but- _Itachi.

* * *

_

A.S.: WAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Cliff hanger!!! Woot! And can you tell that I took riding lessons? Just to clarify, Bay is a brown or red horse with black legs and mane. A dun is pale brown or yellow horse. Posting is when you lift your body during a trot, something you want to do if you don't want to pulverize your hipbones. And if you've every walked a long way with brand new shoes, then you'll know what I mean by wanting older, beaten in tack.

Believe it or not, this entire chapter except for a couple of ideas was made entirly on the spot with out any preplaning. Hope everything in here made sense to you. 'Til next time, ja ne.

A.S.


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